Tradespeople are hardworking, highly skilled and have an entrepreneurial spirit that is helping them recover from the economic downturn, according to a new survey from Ironmongery Direct.

Tradespeople are hardworking, highly skilled and have an entrepreneurial spirit that is helping them recover from the economic downturn, according to a new survey from Ironmongery Direct.

The online ironmongery product supplier has conducted a study of 10,000 people across a range of trades, in order to gauge the current feeling of the industry as the recovery continues.

The results show that tradespeople are three times as likely to be their own boss and employ, on average, two additional staff. A large proportion say they are also keen to develop new skills to boost business, with 58% of tradespeople saying they have a professional qualification and 13% having undertaken a degree.

When asked to best describe how they operate, 67% responded that they are highly trained and skilled, while 93% said they take pride in doing a good job, demonstrating their hardworking nature.

The study has also revealed that over half of the UK's trade professionals are happy with their business' current performance. Forty percent of tradespeople described their current income as 'comfortable' (compared with 32% of the general population) and 14% said that business was 'going well' or 'booming' (compared to just 10% of the UK public). Ironmongery Direct said the results signal an upward trend for the industry and is a good barometer that sectors such as housebuilding, shop fitting and domestic spending on home improvements are also on the rise.

The survey highlights how trade professionals are becoming increasingly more tech-savvy, with 75% using a smartphone at work, while a tablet device is now considered essential to a growing number of tradespeople (31%) for ordering supplies on site.

How are tradespeople driving their business forward? Trust is still high among trade professionals with 84% gaining new business through word of mouth. With 74% of tradespeople responding that they always turn up on time and 82% giving honest and accurate advice, their reliable and professional nature is helping to ensure future recommendations from customers.

The report also reveals that tradespeople are among the happiest workers in the UK. Asked to rate how much they love their job, tradespeople gave an average score of over 8 out of ten, 16% higher than the general population's average score of 6.9 out of 10.

Wayne Lysaght-Mason, managing director at IronmongeryDirect, said: "It's great to see tradespeople not only performing well, but feeling so happy and confident about the future. The results show that their success can be attributed to their own hard work and determination to weather the recent recession. We've found that the outlook for tradespeople is resoundingly positive and, as such, they aren't worried about future business. This is a good indicator for the wider economy, as tradespeople are a barometer of wider investment and an upturn in domestic spending."