50.9% of the U.S. population will most probably be freelancing in 10 years time, according to Forbes, and the growth of the freelance workforce is 3 times faster than the traditional workforce, as noted by the CEO of Upwork. What does this tell us?
50.9% of the U.S. population will most probably be freelancing in 10 years time, according to Forbes, and the growth of the freelance workforce is 3 times faster than the traditional workforce, as noted by the CEO of Upwork. What does this tell us? That more and more qualified workers are choosing to work in the gig economy - and it is not because they cannot find a “permanent, respectable job” or because they are “just filling a gap until going back to a permanent position.” It is because they choose to work this way.
Why, you may wonder. Before analysing some of the reasons behind this choice, you should try and shed the prejudice linked with gig workers and realise that freelancers are highly qualified, usually tech educated and, in fact, freelancers are even most likely to participate in skills-related education in order to be up-to-date compared to non-freelancers - 55% of freelancers have reskilled in order to prepare for the future vs 30% of other workers, according to a 2017 study by Upwork. So, why does the modern workforce chooses freelancing over permanent positions?