With a newly released 2023, from the Workers Association (ATA) They give us an X-ray of how the year 2022 behaved with the self-employed. As usual, the corporation calls “complicated year for everyone”, with a subdued summer season, uncertain prospects as a result of the war in Ukraine, runaway inflation and continued rising commodity prices.
To know the opinion of its associates, ATA presented a few weeks ago the 16th Barometer where two out of three self-employed consider that the evolution of their business will not be better than in 2022. Furthermore, 71.8% have a negative or very negative perspective of the Spanish economy in general and only 25, 8% of the self-employed surveyed affirm that their business has grown over the past year
In addition, the rise in fuel prices, together with the escalation of raw material costs and the taxes that they have to face are putting the continuity of many self-employed workers at serious risk.
First, ATA asked the workers for the evolution in 2022 of its activity: only one in four self-employed states that their business has grown throughout 2022. On the contrary, almost four out of ten, affirm that in 2022, far from becoming the year of recovery, has registered a decrease in its activityand another similar percentage (36.4%) ensures that its activity has remained the same as in 2021
The future prospects of the self-employed in 2023 are not much rosier. Only one in five respondents believe that their business will grow in 2023the rest believe that their activity will be the same as in 2022 or their activity will decrease.
Asked about the economy in general, seven out of ten highlighted its negative trend. Thus, 46.5% see a negative trend and 25.3% a very negative trend. Only 10.8% are confident that 2023 will be a great year in economic terms and perceive the economy very positively. 17.7% are optimistic and view the current economic situation positively.
Business evolution in 2022
With respect to billing of the self-employed and the employment generated last year, 23.4% of the self-employed have seen it increase by up to 10% throughout the year and only 6.3% affirm that the growth of their business has exceeded 20 %. On the other hand, one in four considers that their turnover in 2022 and in relation to 2021 has decreased by at least 20%.
However, in the chapter on costs that affect the activities of the self-employed, practically all the self-employed, 95.2%, affirm that the expenses have increased in 2022. It must not be forgotten that these workers create a third of employment in Spain, between their own and that of the workers who accompany them on this adventure. 43.2% of the self-employed surveyed say they do not have employees because they do not need them in their day-to-day activities.
In this edition of the barometer, it is verified how 8.7% of the self-employed state have increased their staff throughout 2022 and 38.9% affirm that, despite how difficult the year has been, they have been able to maintain the current one. Finally, practically 10% of the self-employed who have responded to the ATA Barometer affirm that they have had to reduce their workforce in 2022.
As a forecast of the employment of their business for 2023, one in three self-employed believes that they will maintain their workforce, specifically 34.9%; 3.5% who will hire new workers and 12.9% who will have to reduce their workforce if things continue as they have been up to now. It stands out that 8.5% of the self-employed do not know how their business and the employment they create in it will evolve.
The delinquency, both public and private, has been and is one of the main problems for our group. So far this year, 39.7% of the self-employed have suffered delinquency. 7.4% of them by public entities only, 9.8% both public and private and 22.5% by other private companies. (See table P.14).
Measures to survive the crisis
One of the first things that the self-employed are asked is whether throughout 2022 have received any help of which the different administrations have launched to help alleviate the consequences of the crisis. stands out as eight out of ten say they have not received any kind of help by public administrations. Of the self-employed who do respond to having received some type of help, the majority affirm that they have received it from the autonomous community, specifically 8.2%. 4.9% claim to have agreed to the cessation of activity, 3.1% have agreed to the ERTE, 5.6% say they have received other state aid and 3.1% from other administrations.
It is of course important to know the reason why this very important percentage of self-employed He claims not to have received any help from the administrations. Despite the fact that 79.5% affirm that they have not benefited, only 17.8% of the self-employed affirm that they do not need them.
8.3% of those surveyed affirm that they have requested them, but that they were denied. One in five self-employed workers, 21.4%, affirm that they do not meet the requirements and that is why they have not applied for them; 11.6% state that they had no information or knowledge of them, a percentage similar to those who state that they did not request them due to the excess of paperwork and bureaucracy involved.
The credits They are a common form of financing in the self-employed. In 2022, however, six out of ten self-employed workers, 58.4%, have not gone to a bank to request financing compared to one in three, 36.6%, who have requested it. Of that 36.6% of the self-employed who have requested financing throughout 2022, this has been granted to 29.6% and denied to 7% of those who requested it.
Among the self-employed who state that they have not requested financing throughout 2022, 26.5% state that they have not requested it because they cannot borrow anymore and 30.1% state that they have not gone to a bank because they have not needed it.
One of the most important aids for the digitization of freelancers and companies that have been called this year for the group is the Digital Kit. Today only 5.6% claim to be unaware of it.
In the last section of this ATA Barometer also have focused on what have been the main problems that the self-employed have suffered this year and what have been the factors that have affected them the most in their day-to-day lives.
The rise in fuel prices, taxes and the cost of raw materials have been the main slabs that have seriously put the continuity of many businesses at risk. Thus, three out of four self-employed workers, 75.5%, affirm that the rise in fuel prices has affected them quite or a lot, 73% have had a hard time paying taxes this 2022 and 71.2% It also marks the increase in the cost of raw materials as one of the main problems of this 2022.
At the other end, The cost of rentals is what the self-employed complain the least about since only 29.7% of the self-employed surveyed for the ATA Barometer say they are quite or very affected for this reason. In addition, the escalation of inflation is a serious problem for most of the self-employed. (P.20). Despite the fact that they have tried to contain rates throughout this year, six out of ten self-employed workers, 59.8%, affirm that they have been forced to raise prices. It stands out how there is still one in three self-employed who, despite the increase in the cost of energy, raw materials, fuel… has maintained prices. If this situation continues, practically two out of three self-employed workers, 64.9%, affirm that they will have to raise prices throughout 2023.
