Written by
Owen Hughes, Senior Editor
Owen Hughes
Senior Editor
Full Bio
on January 18, 2022
| Topic: Business
Freelancers with tech skills are getting more gigs.
Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto
The freelancer market is seeing an uplift as employers seek out independent professionals to fill talent gaps, according to freelancer platform Upwork.
Upwork’s latest Freelance Forward Economist report found that the share of US workers who classify as permanent freelancers grew from 33.8% in 2020 to 35% in 2021.
Upwork said freelancers who can provide these skills will play an “essential role….in filling talent gaps and solving businesses’ most pressing needs in 2022.”
Margaret Lilani, VP of talent solutions at Upwork, said: “Our data indicates that not only is there a huge demand for a broad range of professional skills, but also businesses big and small are shifting their approach to accessing talent and looking to freelancers to fill critical skills gaps.”
SEE: These top 10 tech jobs have the fastest growing salaries
Skills data was sourced from the Upwork database and is based on gross services volume from 1 January 2021 to 31 October 2021.
Each skill had a minimum of 500 projects posted during the period. Year-over-year growth was estimated by comparing the gross services volume in 2021 to gross services volume in the same period in 2020.
Data from KPMG and REC earlier in January 2022 also pointed to a change in hiring habits amongst UK employers.
Specifically, it found that while computing and IT roles continue to lead growth in both permanent and temporary vacancies, demand is beginning to slow. KPMG and REC said the data suggested companies are reeling in their hiring sprees and turning more of their attention to upskilling and reskilling existing staff to fill talent gaps.
Digital transformation
Majority of enterprise execs want to adopt quantum computing, survey says
Low-code and no-code platforms move beyond the shiny-tools stage
Nearly half of Latin companies set to adopt AI by 2023
Employee satisfaction increases as a result of automation in the workplace
Digital Transformation