From Capital Counselor, Bojana Petkovic shares some remarkable statistics about freelancers. Bojana writes:
Top 10 Most Intriguing Freelance Market Statistics
* 61% of freelancers claim their freelance career was a choice, not a necessity.
* The three largest freelance platforms in the world are Freelancer.com, Upwork, and Fiverr.
* The best countries for freelancers are the US, the UK, Brazil, Pakistan, Ukraine, the Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Russia, and Serbia (in this order).
* Estimated at about $1 trillion, freelance income is getting close to 5% of the US GDP.
* Globally, 3 out of 4 freelancers are male (77%).
* Upwork freelancer statistics confirm about 57 million Americans are involved in some kind of freelance work.
* 44% of freelancers got crossed at least once in their career.
* About 50% of freelance workers work 30 to 50 hours per week.
* 79% of full-time working freelancers say a flexible schedule is the number one reason for choosing this career.
* 51% of freelancers claim they would never go back to 9-to-5 jobs.
That’s right, we didn’t see some of these coming either. Go on and take a closer look!
Freelance Workforce Statistics
1. The majority of the US workforce will be freelance by 2027, estimates show.
(Score)
The prediction mostly relies on generations Y and Z to be the main workforce in the freelance market, especially since 47% of Millennials freelance in some way already.
It’s not just the possibility of staying at home and being independent. The 2008 recession clearly showed one can’t always rely on corporations for a safe career.
2. Freelance statistics for the UK tell us there are 2 million British freelancers, with 1.77 million naming it as their main job.
(Go Simple Tax)
There has been an influx of new freelancers (an increase of 46%) from the time of the Great Recession in 2008. The freelance workforce is slowly being recognized as influential, and above all, desirable.
Overall, they contributed to the British economy with a whopping $317 million in 2017.
3. How many freelancers are there in the US in 2019? Well, about 57 million Americans are involved in some kind of freelance work.
(Upwork)
“Freelancing in America” (FIA) research reports that generation Z has the largest number of freelance workers, contributing to the freelance community with 53% of the population.
On the other hand, only 29% and 31% of Baby Boomers and Generation X do freelance work, respectively.
4. Freelancers and digital nomads are not necessarily identical.
(TimeCamp)
Freelancers oftentimes work from home, whereas digital nomads spend a few months abroad each year and frequently change their whereabouts every couple of weeks.
5. Is Upwork worth it? Freelance statistics on jobs say the three largest freelance platforms in the world are: Freelancer.com, Upwork, and Fiverr.
(Website Planet)
Freelancer.com has over 31 million registered users, while Upwork can boast with just above half as much (17 million). Conversely, Fiverr has a bit over 7 million freelancers.
6. Globally, 3 out of 4 freelancers are male (77%).
(Inc.)
On the other hand, if we take a closer look, the ratio is almost equal in North America. In contrast, only 1 out of 5 freelancers is female on the Asian continent.
7. According to freelance statistics for 2019, the best countries for freelancers are the US, the UK, Brazil, Pakistan, Ukraine, the Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Russia, and Serbia (in this order).
(Payoneer)
These countries are getting big bucks from the freelancer economy. The earnings in the US in 2019 increased by a staggering 78% compared to the earnings in 2018 for Q2. This is the largest boost in the world!
Similarly, the UK had a YOY growth of 59%, and Brazil ranks third with 48%.
Serbia, a small European country, seems to be an interesting IT market as outsourcing statistics report revenue that surpassed the $1 billion mark.
8. 30% of freelancers are web and graphic designers, representing the largest part of the workforce, as reported by freelancer statistics for 2020.
(Business Mirror)
As for the remaining best freelance careers, programmers take second place with 19% of them belonging to the budding freelance world. IT specialists come third, with 10% of them preferring to be their own bosses.
9. Around 70% of Pakistani freelancers are younger than 30.
(Payoneer)
On the other hand, US freelance professionals are of various ages. The majority are between 25 and 34 years old, whereas 27% of them are 35–44 years old. Moreover, 13% of US freelancers are older than 55.
10. Freelance writing statistics estimate content writers make up for 8% of freelancers.
(Business Mirror)
All this content on the internet won’t just write itself you know — hence why writers now have more work cut out for them than ever before, or at the very least have more opportunities to become known globally. Project managers, who are often in charge of writers, choose a regular job instead as only 1% of them are freelance workers.
Multimedia artists employ their creativity as much as writers, meaning that 8% of them freelance too.
Read the full story at 25 Freelance Statistics That Will Make You Quit Your Job
For more information, please see 35 Fundamental Freelance Statistics
