36% of US Workforce Performs Freelance Work: Staffing Word of the Week

Research by B2B talent platform Upwork (NASDAQ: UPWK) released last week found that 59 million Americans performed freelance work in the past 12 months, representing 36% of the entire US workforce. It was Upwork’s eighth annual such study and included more than 6,000 US workers.

Upwork’s report also noted freelancing is growing among more educated workers and shrinking among the least educated. Another finding: 53% of all freelancers provided skilled services such as computer programming, marketing, IT and business consulting this year, up from 50% in 2020.

“Freelancer” is this week’s Staffing Word of the Week.

Upwork’s report defines freelancers as “individuals who have engaged in supplemental, temporary, project- or contract-based work, within the past 12 months.”

Indeed, “freelancer” is often understood to be an independent contractor working for a client. However, definitions can see some variation. For example, the definitions on Investopedia and Dictionary.com.

Staffing Industry Analysts defines freelancer in its online Lexicon as a term that “can be used to refer to almost any independent professional worker who performs jobs transiently and is unaffiliated with a particular employer organization, though sometimes they may be affiliated with one or more agency organizations. Freelancers are typically classified as independent contractors.”

Original Article: https://www2.staffingindustry.com/Editorial/Daily-News/36-of-US-workforce-performs-freelance-work-Staffing-Word-of-the-Week-60068