Upwork Study Finds 60 Million Americans Freelancing in 2022
Upwork announces its "Freelance Forward: 2022" report, revealing that 60 million Americans engaged in freelance work, representing 39% of the U.S. workforce. Freelancers contributed
- Freelancers contributed $1.35 trillion to the U.S. economy in 2022, an increase of $50 billion from 2021.
- The number of freelancers reached an all-time high of 60 million, up three percentage points from 2021.
- 73% of freelancers feel that the perception of freelancing is becoming more positive compared to 68% in 2021.
- 43% of Gen Z and 46% of Millennials participated in freelance work in 2022.
- 51% of freelancers provide knowledge services, equating to nearly 31 million professionals.
- None.
Total freelance professionals reaches all-time high as people reevaluate the old ways of work
Upwork Freelance Forward 2022 (Graphic: Business Wire)
Upwork’s study found American freelancers contributed
“Freelancing continues to gain popularity among skilled professionals as more people evaluate their priorities and values around work,” said
Large swaths of the
Key findings of the report include:
-
Freelancing remains a significant part of the
U.S. labor market and economy: Freelancers contributed to the$1.35 trillion U.S. economy in annual earnings in 2022, up from 2021.$50 billion -
Freelancing hits an all-time high: The share of professionals freelancing increased to 60 million Americans, up three percentage points from 2021 to
39% .1 -
Perceptions of freelancing continue to shift: Nearly three-quarters of freelancers (
73% ) say that perceptions of freelancing as a career are becoming more positive, up from68% in 2021.2 -
Gen Z and Millennials are the most likely to explore freelancing: In 2022,
43% of all Gen Z professionals and46% of all Millennial professionals performed freelance work. -
Over half of freelancers provide knowledge services:
51% of all freelancers, or nearly 31 million professionals, provided knowledge services such as computer programming, marketing, IT, and business consulting in 2022. -
Diversified workers become more common:
17% ofU.S. workers are now diversified, meaning they seek multiple sources of income from a mix of traditional employment and freelance work, up three percentage points from 2021. -
Freelancing continues to grow among the most educated:
26% of allU.S. freelancers hold a postgraduate degree, up from20% in 2021.
To read the full report, visit www.upwork.com/research/freelance-forward-2022.
About Freelance Forward
To see further insights, please visit www.upwork.com/research/freelance-forward-2022. The study is conducted by independent research firm Edelman Data & Intelligence. 3,000
About Upwork
Upwork is the world’s work marketplace. We serve everyone from one-person startups to over
1 Based on September non-farm payrolls of 153 million
2 For freelancers who were freelancing before COVID-19
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221213005068/en/
press@upwork.com
Source: Upwork
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