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Freelance statistics have proven a dramatic shift following the worldwide shakeup attributable to Covid-19.

There are a couple of causes for this sudden shift—most of which you’ll perceive as you dive into the freelance statistics under—not the least of which is that this:

Hundreds of thousands of individuals misplaced their jobs or have been compelled to earn a living from home in 2020.

By no means earlier than within the historical past of contemporary work have so many individuals misplaced their job at one time (forcing exploration of options like freelancing). Amongst those who saved their jobs, by no means in trendy historical past has such a work-from-home exodus been so large.

And so, right here we’re. Freelancing statistics are skyrocketing. Distant work is extra widespread than ever earlier than. Work is altering. And the freelance stats under will assist you to see simply how massive this shift actually is.

We’ll replace these freelancing stats frequently to doc the ever-changing workforce panorama.

Common Freelance Statistics

First, let’s have a look at the large image in the case of freelance stats. Freelancing is a drive to be reckoned with on this world. Right here’s a glimpse at why:

• There are an estimated 1.2 billion freelancers around the globe (almost 1/3 of the entire world workforce).
• 73.3 million People reported having freelanced in 2023—equalling 46.25% of the general American workforce.
• U.S. Freelancers generated a whopping $1.2 trillion in annual earnings in 2020.
• The overwhelming majority of people that attempt freelancing, anticipate to maintain freelancing into the long run on some level.
• Expert freelancers report a median $25/hour charge from their purchasers. 32% of freelancers work solely on an hourly foundation.

Freelance Development Statistics

Not solely is the freelance workforce a powerhouse in its personal proper, however it’s additionally on an upward trajectory. Freelancing statistics present the freelance workforce is rising quicker than ever earlier than. Have a look:

• It’s estimated that the entire variety of freelancers within the U.S. alone by 2028 will surpass 90 million. (We expect it’ll be higher.)
• 50% of Gen-Z staff take part within the freelance economic system, whereas solely 26% of Child Boomers do.
• 90% of freelancers estimate their revenue will both stay the identical or go up year-over-year.
• Clear again in 2016, already 80% of the present US workforce was prepared or serious about taking up extra freelance work outdoors of their day job.
• 71% of freelancers report they imagine public perceptions of freelancing as a profession have gotten extra optimistic annually.

Covid-19 Freelance Statistics

After all, no checklist of freelancer stats can be full with out diving into how Covid-19 has not too long ago impacted the freelance workforce. Whereas some freelancers have been compelled to take a break in response to the pandemic, Covid gave the impression to be considerably optimistic for many freelancers:

• An estimated 2+ Million staff have joined the freelance economic system thus far because of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
• Distant work has opened workers’ eyes to freelancing as a viable future profession. 58% of staff who’re new to distant working say they’ll think about freelancing sooner or later.
• An estimated 10% of freelancers put their freelance work on maintain because of Covid-19. Nonetheless, 88% of these “on maintain” anticipate they’ll return to freelancing when attainable.
• Freelancers who began freelancing throughout the pandemic have reported a optimistic financial affect and an enormous 96% of them anticipate to proceed freelancing into the long run.
• 1/3 of Gen Z freelancers started their freelancing journey throughout the pandemic. And most plan to proceed freelancing into the long run.

Freelance Market Statistics

Freelance marketplaces make up an enormous portion of the freelance business because it’s the place many freelancers get their begin and what number of veterans proceed to seek out new purchasers. It’s straightforward to see why whenever you evaluate these stats:

• Upwork options 12 classes and 173+ sub-categories through which you could find freelance purchasers.
• 59% of freelancers use marketplaces and job boards to seek out new freelance purchasers, beating out referrals and social media amongst others.
• Income generated via main freelance website Upwork has greater than doubled from 2016 (164 Million) to 2020 (373 Million).
• 91% of freelancers who’ve used freelance job websites to seek out work would suggest them to somebody simply getting began as a freelancer.

Freelance Workday Statistics

A freelancer’s workday is a bit completely different than a typical 9-5 job—largely in a optimistic manner. Right here’s what freelancers around the globe should say concerning the time they put in throughout “work hours”:

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• 51% of freelancers report working fewer than 40 hours every week, even when they’re “full-time” freelancers.
• 69% of freelancers report having sufficient work to maintain them actively freelancing on a day by day or weekly foundation.
• Half of the freelance workforce studies filling their workday with expert labor, offering expert companies to purchasers.

Freelancer-Consumer Statistics

With out purchasers, a freelancer is basically only a hobbyist. So it is smart that many freelancer statistics deal with the freelancer-client relationship. Listed below are only a few:

• 58% of freelancers report they’ve greater than 5 purchasers at any given time.
• 57% of freelancers say they set their very own charges for purchasers to pay them.
• Freelancers report spending about 25% of their time advertising and marketing, prospecting, or looking for new purchasers.
• 47% of freelancers who use freelance marketplaces achieve this as a result of they imagine it’s place to seek out reliable purchasers.

Freelance Life-style Statistics

For a lot of freelancers, they select this various profession due to the affect it’s going to have on their way of life. As reported within the freelance stats under, the approach to life implications of creating the swap to freelance are largely optimistic:

• 71% of freelancers say they select freelancing primarily for the schedule flexibility it offers.
• 45% of U.S. freelancers are extremely educated post-graduates with a Grasp’s Diploma or above.
• 54% of freelancers reported their greatest fear is lack of stability. Their second greatest concern was lack of financial safety.
• There are freelancers in virtually all main industries together with high-paying jobs like medical doctors, architects, consultants, legal professionals, and tax professionals.
• 65% of freelancers age 55+ see freelance work as an affordable option to transition into retirement. They’re much less apprehensive about saving for retirement than full-time workers.

Freelance Satisfaction Statistics

It’s not only a way of life enchancment that’s driving increasingly more individuals to undertake freelancing as a viable profession path. We discovered a number of freelance stats suggesting there are many different optimistic causes for turning to freelancing. Listed below are a number of the finest:

• 86% of freelancers everywhere in the world report they imagine the long run is vibrant and their finest freelancing days are forward.
• 65% of freelancers who left a typical day job to start out freelancing report they earn more money general than they did working a 9-5 job.
• Of the freelancers who make greater than they did at their desk job, 57% of them reported they blew previous their earlier wage in lower than 6 months.
• 65% of freelancers reported they’re continuously upgrading their expertise whereas solely 45% of full-time workers stated the identical.
• 59% of freelancers say they’ve taken half in particular expertise coaching within the final half-year in contrast with solely 36% of their desk-job counterparts.

Freelance Statistics FAQs

Throughout our analysis, we discovered a collection of questions individuals steadily ask about freelance stats and have finished our greatest to reply these questions under.

What number of kinds of freelance work are there?

Widespread freelancing website Upwork options 12 major kinds of freelance work with 173 sub-categories. It’s unattainable to place an actual quantity on what number of several types of freelance work there are, however it’s protected to say there are lots of choices if you wish to begin freelancing.

What number of hours do freelance writers work?

Most freelance writers report working anyplace from 20-30 hours/week. Since most freelance writers set their very own hours, it very a lot is determined by what number of purchasers you’ve got, how shortly you sort, and what number of revisions you obtain from a consumer.

What number of articles do freelance writers write?

Some writers have reported writing twenty to 25 700-1000 phrase articles every month. This, after all, varies wildly relying on the standard, material, or size of your articles.

What number of hours in a contract day?

One report suggests freelancers work a mean of 36 hours/week which equates to 7.2 hours per day throughout a 5-day workweek. After all, freelancers typically set their very own schedules which suggests you may theoretically work as many hours as you select.

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What number of hours do freelance programmers work?

Relying on whether or not you’re aiming for development or for way of life, freelance programmers can work anyplace from 20-60 hours in every week.

What number of kinds of freelancers are there?

There are usually 3 several types of freelancers: expert freelancers, unskilled freelancers, and different freelancers. Expert freelancers provide a selected talent on the market to their purchasers. Unskilled freelancers take part within the gig economic system. Different freelancers sell digital or bodily items to prospects.

What number of freelance photographers are there?

There are an estimated 92,700 freelance photographers in america alone. This quantity comes from roughly 147,300 registered skilled photographers with 63% of them having self-identified as freelancers.

What number of freelance writers are there?

There are roughly 238,000 freelance writers in the UK alone. Discovering out what number of freelance writers there are in all the world is almost unattainable, however with an estimated 1.2 billion freelancers globally, it’s protected to estimate there are probably hundreds of thousands of freelance writers on the planet.

What number of freelance web sites are there?

There are dozens of freelance web sites throughout the online. The most well-liked (with the best variety of customers) are Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer.com.

For extra choices learn this.

What number of freelance journalists are there?

Within the UK alone, it’s estimated there are over 50,000 self-identified journalists. However because the position of journalists continues to vary and conventional magazines and newspapers start to decay, it’s exhausting to determine what number of freelance journalists there are globally.

Variety of freelance jobs

Between Upwork, Freelancer.com, Fiverr, LinkedIn, Certainly, and extra, there are hundreds of thousands of recent freelance jobs posted on-line each single 12 months. As well as, think about native freelance jobs posted in newspapers or native job websites. There isn’t a scarcity of freelance work.

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The variety of freelancers within the U.S.

Current Statista knowledge estimates there are over 73 million freelancers in america and can surge to over 90 million by 2028.

What freelance jobs are in demand?

A current examine highlighted the highest 100 freelance jobs in demand proper now. The highest ten included .NET Core, TypeScript, Touchdown pages, eBooks, Android, Digital Design, Shows, Sketch, Analysis, and Technical Recruiters.

What number of freelancers are there on Upwork?

There are an estimated 18 Million freelancers on Upwork in a wide range of completely different industries. This makes Upwork one of many largest freelancing platforms on the planet.

What number of freelancers are on Fiverr?

In 2019, Fiverr reported a contract consumer base of 830,000 freelancers in 160 nations. This implies the competitors is way smaller than on Upwork or Freelancer.com.

What number of freelancers are in India?

Finally tally, India had round 15 Million freelancers, second solely to america.

What number of freelancers are in Pakistan?

At present, there are over 900,000 freelancers working in Pakistan for world purchasers in a wide range of industries.

Statistical Sources

Thanks to the various hard-working researchers who’ve run useful, in-depth research amongst freelancers working around the globe.

As well as, we acknowledge the anecdotal work of unofficial researchers on Quora and Reddit who collect public data to help our findings.

Listed below are the assets we used to compile this checklist of freelancer statistics.

• • https://www.statista.com/statistics/921593/gig-economy-number-of-freelancers-us/
  • https://www.statista.com/statistics/530909/sources-for-freelancers-to-find-work-us/
  • https://www.statista.com/statistics/531012/freelancers-by-age-us/
  • https://www.statista.com/statistics/685468/amount-of-people-freelancing-us/
  • https://www.statista.com/statistics/531018/education-of-freelancers-us/
  • https://www.slideshare.internet/upwork/freelancing-in-america-2017/1
  • https://help.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/360024801733-Job-Classes-and-Descriptions
  • https://www.statista.com/statistics/530887/top-ten-reasons-for-freelance-work-us/
  • https://www.statista.com/statistics/530949/freelancers-income-change-us/
  • https://www.statista.com/statistics/530989/readiness-of-non-freelance-workers-to-freelance-us/
  • https://www.statista.com/statistics/1223096/hungary-biggest-worries-of-freelancers/
  • https://www.statista.com/chart/10981/freelancers-in-america/
  • https://www.statista.com/statistics/941807/upwork-revenue-worldwide/
  • https://www.slideshare.internet/upwork/freelancing-in-america-2017/1
  • https://www.reddit.com/r/freelanceWriters/feedback/5zkowy/what_is_your_income_like_and_how_many_hours_do/
  • https://www.reddit.com/r/freelanceWriters/feedback/bp8wzz/freelance_writers_how_many_articles_do_you_write/
  • https://www.quora.com/How-many-hours-do-most-freelance-software-developers-put-in-per-week
  • https://studentscholarships.org/careers_salary/154/self_employed/photographers.php
  • https://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/photographer/job-market/
  • https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/16/fiverr-files-to-go-public/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upwork
  • https://www.upwork.com/press/releases/the-upwork-100-q3-2019
  • https://www.zameen.com/weblog/freelancing-in-pakistan.htm
  • Featured picture created by marymarkevich – www.freepik.com

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Written by Preston Lee

Editor at Millo.co

Preston Lee is the founding father of Millo the place he and his staff have been serving to freelancers thrive for over a decade. His recommendation has been featured by Entrepreneur, Inc, Forbes, Adobe, and lots of extra.

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