85% of U.S. Business Owners Plan to Implement a Hiring Freeze During Economic Downturn, According to New Data from Fiverr Business

Fiverr International Ltd., (NYSE: FVRR), the company that is revolutionizing how the world works together, has revealed new data showing how the current economic crisis is affecting U.S. businesses, as well the steps they plan to take in the event of further economic downturn. Fiverr Business, Fiverr's catalog of verified and vetted talent for medium to large businesses, conducted a nationwide survey of over 1,000 owners of businesses of varying sizes and revenue. The results show how these businesses are coping with rising costs, inflation, and a potential and/or impending economic downturn.

"Businesses have proven their resilience over the past few years, but the economic downturn - including the cost of living crisis, inflation, and the volatile stock market - has delivered yet another obstacle to add to the list," said Shany Malbin, Fiverr Business General Manager. "Changes to headcount and working arrangements are unfortunately necessary during cost-cutting periods, and yet businesses need to ensure staff still feel supported and morale remains intact. It's encouraging to see that savvy business leaders are turning to freelancers in order to fill any talent gaps in their workforce to avoid things such as burnout and reduced productivity."

Several key themes that emerged from the data include:

Effects of inflation and rising costs are impacting U.S. businesses of all sizes.

• 41% of business owners reported lowered productivity among their workforce despite 36% having reported an increase in working hours.
• 31% have had more salary and benefits requests from staff.
• 87% of businesses reported having to re-examine their fixed costs (lease, insurance, etc.) vs. variable costs (staffing, benefits, etc.)

A large majority (85%) of U.S. businesses plan to implement hiring freezes during the current economic downturn.

• Remote-only companies are less likely to implement a hiring freeze (78%) compared to companies operating fully in-person (87%).
• Hybrid-working companies are most likely to implement a hiring freeze (88%).

Most U.S. businesses (78%) plan to lay off employees during the current economic downturn.

• Remote-only companies are less likely to lay off staff (74%) compared to companies operating fully in-person (80%).
• Hybrid working companies are also more likely to lay off staff (80%).

Inflation and the rising cost of living has heavily impacted businesses and their employees.

• 45% of businesses with 500+ employees say they are experiencing reduced productivity.
• 30% of all business owners surveyed said staff is more likely to ask for salary raises or benefits.
• 23% of business owners say they're seeing reduced morale.

Given the possible recession, business owners surveyed said they will hire freelancers to fill talent gaps in their workforce.

• 43% of business owners surveyed plan to hire freelancers.
• 8 in 10 said independent flexible talent can help companies during times of economic downturn.

Freelancers have already proven to be an essential resource for businesses.

• 81% of respondents said they are already using freelance talent to support their full time staff and fill skills gaps.
• 40% say independent talent provides a larger talent pool for recruitment.
• 38% believe freelancers are more efficient.

This survey was conducted in partnership with Censuswide.

About Fiverr

Fiverr's mission is to revolutionize how the world works together. We exist to democratize access to talent and to provide talent with access to opportunities so anyone can grow their business, brand, or dreams. From small businesses to Fortune 500, over 4 million customers worldwide worked with freelance talent on Fiverr in the past year, ensuring their workforces remain flexible, adaptive, and agile. With Fiverr's Talent Cloud, companies can easily scale their teams from a talent pool of skilled professionals from over 160 countries across more than 550 categories, ranging from programming to 3D design, digital marketing to content creation, from video animation to architecture.

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