Report: 59 million Americans are freelancing amid turbulent labor market

2 years ago 283

The probe from Upwork indicates freelancing rates clasp dependable successful the U.S., contributing $1.3 trillion to the economy.

Young Asian antheral moving with laptop machine connected tropical beach, integer nomad manner oregon freelance occupation concepts

Even during a turbulent labour market, freelancers contributed $1.3 trillion to the U.S. system successful yearly earnings, up $100 cardinal from 2020, according to caller probe from Upwork, a enactment marketplace that connects businesses with autarkic talent.

SEE: Google Workspace vs. Microsoft 365: A side-by-side investigation w/checklist (TechRepublic Premium)

This maturation was driven by an summation successful the fig of highly skilled, distant freelancers who near afloat clip employment for flexible enactment alternatives, according to Upwork's Freelance Forward: 2021 survey of the U.S. autarkic workforce. At the aforesaid time, determination was a notable diminution successful impermanent workers and a emergence successful each different types of freelancing, combined, Upwork said.

There is "a precise wide scope of activities that number arsenic freelancing," compared with accepted employment, the study noted. "Freelance enactment tin alteration from selling goods online a fewer times a twelvemonth to delivering groceries a fewer times a period to moving arsenic a full-time programmer oregon accountant."

The survey besides recovered that 59 cardinal Americans performed freelance enactment successful the past 12 months, representing 36%—or much than one-third—of the full U.S. workforce.

The stock of non-temporary freelancers roseate from 33.8% to 35% from 2020 to 2021, according to the report.

More highly educated, highly skilled workers are freelancing

One of the absorbing findings is that freelancing is increasing among highly educated workers. Some 51% of post-grad workers did freelancing work, up 6% since 2020, while the stock of precocious schoolhouse graduates oregon little freelancing has declined from 37% successful 2020 to 31% this year, the study said.

Skilled distant freelancing besides continued to turn successful 2021. The probe recovered that 53% of each freelancers provided skilled services specified arsenic machine programming, marketing, IT and concern consulting successful 2021, up from 50% successful 2020, Upwork said.

In presumption of age, freelancers ages 55 and older marque up much than one-quarter of each freelancers (26%) chiefly doing skilled and project-based work, according to the report. At the aforesaid time, fractional of the Gen Z workforce said they person freelanced successful the past year, and much than one-third (36%) said they started since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

"Freelancing has remained a unchangeable portion of the system and little of a impermanent enactment for galore highly skilled professionals,'' said Upwork Chief Economist Adam Ozimek.

SEE: Top keyboard shortcuts you request to cognize (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

In presumption of different demographics, caller freelancers are mostly much full-time, much remote, younger, successful hard-hit occupations and much apt to beryllium male, municipality and caregivers.

Not surprisingly, flexibility and state are cardinal motivators for caller and existing freelancers. The study recovered that:

68% of caller freelancer respondents said that vocation ownership is simply a apical draw, followed by the quality to enactment remotely astatine 54%.
78% of skilled distant freelancers cited docket flexibility arsenic a cardinal crushed for freelancing, 73% mention determination flexibility and 73% said freelancing allows them to prosecute enactment they find meaningful.

Another large impetus for freelancing is that 44% of freelancer respondents said they earned much freelancing than with a accepted occupation successful 2021—up from 39% successful 2020 and 32% successful 2019.

The aboriginal of freelance enactment is bright

Upwork's probe besides recovered that amid the alleged Great Resignation, 56% of non-freelancer professionals said they are considering freelance enactment successful the future.

Nine successful 10 freelancers judge that the "best days are ahead" for freelancing: Two-thirds (66%) said they are optimistic astir their careers successful 2022, compared with 53% non-freelancers, according to the report.

Ozimek besides expressed optimism astir the aboriginal of freelancing, saying that the accepted expectations of in-office, 9-to-5 workplaces person been tested, and galore professionals opted for change.

"We person seen much involvement since the pandemic successful this mode of working, and I judge that we volition proceed to spot elevated levels of freelancing into 2022 and beyond,'' Ozimek said. "Where I expect maturation volition beryllium much connected an occupational ground than an manufacture basis."

For example, Upwork sees a batch of distant freelancing successful the areas of web, mobile and bundle improvement crossed industries, Ozimek said. "Those skills are successful request successful manufacturing, retail, healthcare and beyond."

A cardinal strategy for occurrence successful freelancing is to pat into freelance websites, the study said. Prior to the pandemic, 1 successful 4 skilled freelancers said they typically recovered enactment done freelance websites.

Ninety-one percent of responsive freelancers who person utilized freelance websites earlier and during the pandemic said they would urge them due to the fact that they tin find meaningful work, they tin find trustworthy clients and they tin summation entree to tools and resources that assistance with task absorption and efficiency, according to the report.

Upwork said its eighth yearly survey surveyed much than 6,000 U.S. workers implicit 18 online betwixt Aug. 27 and Sept. 29, 2021. Of those, 2,156 were freelancers, and 3,844 were non-freelancers.

Executive Briefing Newsletter

Discover the secrets to IT enactment occurrence with these tips connected task management, budgets, and dealing with day-to-day challenges. Delivered Tuesdays and Thursdays