Costs have skyrocketed for the self-employed, but despite this, only 16.3% are considering making layoffs in the coming months. It is one of the conclusions of the barometer carried out by the National Federation of Self-Employed Workers Associations (ATA), which also shows how this increase in expenses, caused by inflation, taxes, contributions and the cost of raw materials, affects them practically everyone (82.7% of the total). This situation has led 67% to have to raise prices. There are many fewer, 29%, who have been able to assume the increase in expenses and not touch prices.
When analyzing the costs, it appears that two out of three have increased by almost 20% since 2022, and this despite an increase in billing.
Almost half of the self-employed have dependent workers, and among this percentage, in the coming months of this year only 16.3% propose reducing the workforce, which contrasts with the vast majority, 67.3%, who plans to maintain it and an already much smaller percentage, 6.1%, who plans to increase it. These percentages of what they plan to do in the immediate future are slightly less positive than what they have done in the last year, during which more have increased the workforce than have reduced it, although with a central trunk ( 70.3%), which has maintained it.
What the barometer also shows is a slowness in adapting to the new contribution system (RETA) that came into force on January 1st, and which involves adapting the contribution to income, for which it is necessary to establish an estimate of expected revenue. In this way, only 15% of the self-employed surveyed say they have communicated their income forecast for the coming months and thus adjust the fee to their real income. Half say they have not communicated it and 31% are still very puzzled by the new listing and say they do not know whether or not they have made said communication.
