I had the same conversation with a colleague who managed an engineering department, his answer was that he can take on new freelancers quickly and fire them just as quickly.
There are also patterns where freelancers are more desirable early on in an economic recovery, e.g. the company thinks it might be safe to start hiring again but is not feeling quite confident enough to take on full time staff (cost of firing etc.)
There are also patterns where freelancers are more desirable early on in an economic recovery, e.g. the company thinks it might be safe to start hiring again but is not feeling quite confident enough to take on full time staff (cost of firing etc.)