Average day rates up 3%, but inflation at 3.5%

So, there’s some new dayrate data available from YunoJuno, one of the UK’s largest freelancing platforms.

Data from platforms like this are always interesting to look at - but also should be taken with a pinch of salt, as much of the work platform could be working with agencies rather than direct to client, which sometimes attracts lower rates - and might include non UK rates, so smooth out local economic context).

Headlines for me that are interesting:

1/ The 2024 average day rate stood at £390, reflecting a +3% year-on-year increase - HOWEVER, the cost of living inflation rate in 2024 was 3.5% for the 12 months ending in December, so this is actually a net decline in day rates.

2/ The average project length saw a slight decrease of 4%, bringing it to 23 working days in 2024 - HOWEVER, the variability in the contract lengths is HUGE, i.e. creatives were 17 days on average. Anecdotally, contract lengths felt much smaller in value in 2024, and harder to convert. Strategy, for instance, saw a 25% drop in contract lengths.

3/ Creative freelancers earned an average day rate of £397, a slight increase of +2% year-on-year - HOWEVER, if you compare to 2023, the average rate was higher (£398), and adjusting for inflation, this is still worse off.

What the data doesn’t show is whether the volume of bookings has declined - doesn’t matter if the day rates are higher, if there’s less work around. And from what we felt/saw/heard, 2024 was not a good year for most.

We’ve updated the list of day rate benchmarks, so you’ve always got the latest data to hand, and an upcoming episode of the podcast will be talking about pricing too.