I compiled 65 intriguing statistics on freelancing for your data-viewing pleasure!
So, first of all, you might be wondering why I put this list together. The main reason is that I love data and seeing a whole load of stats coming together on a page. Naturally, the first option was always going to be about freelancing…and it’s really surprising about the sheer amount of data that is out there.
From sector-specific growth to eye-opening stats on the broader world of contracting and working for yourself, there’s too much data in here to summarise… so have a gander and let me know what you think!
Note – This post is continually updated based on when myself and the team obtain fresh data. This post was last updated on the 7th November 2021.
- The number of freelancers operating in the United States has steadily been increasing since 2014. In 2020, those doing freelance work numbered at a whopping 59 million – an increase of 6 million over the previous 6 years! (Statista, 2021)
- A survey conducted in 2020 found that the main reason people choose to go freelance in the United States is for the increased freedom it provides; 71% stated that they did so in order to have a flexible schedule, while 66% wanted to be their own boss. (Statista, 2021)
- A survey from 2019 found that 75% of those in the arts and design industry operate as freelancers; this marks a stark difference to the manufacturing industry, where only 21% are freelancers. (Statista, 2021)
- The findings of a 2020 survey suggest that 46% of freelancers in America get most of their work through previous clients. (Statista, 2021)
- Of those who participate in freelance work, a slight majority are male, at 59%. (Similarweb.com)
- Freelance websites give a good insight into how many freelancers are active online; in first place, Indeed sees 150 million visits per month, with Freelancer in second at 16.5 million per month. (Similarweb.com)
- The main concern for those operating as freelancers in the US in 2020 was the chance of a significant economic downturn, with 72% of those surveyed responding that they were ‘somewhat’ to ‘very’ concerned. (Statista, 2021)
- The second biggest concern was the inability to make significant savings, with 70% responding that they were concerned that they were not able to save enough of their earnings. (Statista, 2021)
- In a recent survey, a significant 65% of freelancers operating in the United States responded that they earn more than they did when they were an employee. (Statista, 2021)
- In the UK, 62% of those who are self employed are male, the remaining 38% female. While this still represents a gender divide, it shows a 2% increase of female freelancers compared to 2019 (IPSE 2021)
- In the UK, there is a closer gender distribution of freelancers who operate in a higher occupational category; here, women now constitute 44% of freelancers, a 2% increase on 2019. (IPSE, 2021)
- There are currently 605,000 self-employed mothers in the UK, meaning that around 1/7 of all solo self employed individuals are mothers. (IPSE, 2021)
- Younger workers are more likely to be freelancers; a survey by upwork found that 53% of workers who are Gen Z operate as freelancers, while among Baby Boomers, only 29% freelanced. (IPSE, 2021)
- Of those who freelance in the United States, 86% state that they work from home, while 40% state that they work from their local cafe. (and.co, 2017)
- When asked what the biggest challenge was to freelancing, 44% of those asked responded that the biggest challenge was keeping a balance between flexibility and uncertainty. (and.co, 2017.)
- The majority of those who become self-employed see a significant improvement in their quality of life. In a survey, 68% of those who participated stated that they’d seen an improvement, with 23% saying it had stayed the same, and 9% responding that it had worsened. (and.co, 2017)
- The majority of those who freelance don’t just sell a single service; 61% sell between 2 and 3, while 34% sell over 3, with just 5% selling one skill. (and.co, 2017)
- Most freelancers tend to work on multiple projects at the same time; 70% tend to work on between 2 and 4, with 13% working on between 5 and 9, 4% working on over 10, and 13% working on just a single project at a time. (and.co, 2017)
- Digital nomadism has become increasingly popular, with a massive 60% responding that it was a significant attraction of the freelancer lifestyle. (and.co, 2017)
- While a majority of freelancers find nomadism appealing, a lot still would prefer to stay put. Of those surveyed, 21% state that they’d rather live in an up and coming town, with 18% stating they’d like to live in a major city. (and.co, 2017)
- The top three states for freelancers surveyed were New York at 17%, California at 11%, and Texas at 5%. (and.co, 2017)
- Not getting paid by clients was a problem for a significant minority of freelancers; 44% stated that they had not been paid for an invoice before, with 56% saying it had never happened to them. (and.co, 2017)
- In the UK, 10% of those who are self employed are over 65 years old, while just 3% of employees are over 65. (ONS, 2021)
- The distribution of self employed individuals in the UK is varied across urban centres; London is the highest, with around 19% of people self employed, while Glasgow is the lowest, at just over 10%. (ONS, 2019)
- A survey of 25,000 bookings made on YunoJuno in 2019 found that the average day rate of freelancers was £374. (YunoJuno, 2020)
- The same survey found that the top 10% of day rates were around £550, a significant increase on the average. (YunoJuno, 2020)
- Of those who gained contracts as data freelancers through YunoJuno in 2019, the average length of contract was 52 working days, or around 3 months. (YunoJuno, 2019)
- Self employment does not generally correlate with an increase in financial stability; 43% of those stated that they were less financially stable than they were before going self employed. (and.co, 2017)
- Personal branding and marketing are not generally seen as a priority to growth among freelancers; 56% of those asked responded that it was somewhat important, but that most focus was on the actual work they do. (and.co, 2017)
- While the majority found that marketing was somewhat important, a significant 41% stated that it was one of the most important duties they had. (and.co, 2017)
- Of those surveyed by and.co, a massive 91% stated that most of their work came through word of mouth & referrals. (and.co, 2017)
- The second biggest source of work at 48% was through organic growth through websites or portfolios. (and.co, 2017)
- The third most significant source of work was through pitching and outreach, at 37%. (and.co, 2017)
- Freelancing isn’t just popular with small and medium sized businesses – 30% of Fortune 500 companies also use freelancers, sourcing them through platforms like Upwork. (Forbes, 2018)
- Freelancing accommodates a wide variety of different lifestyles, which led to 84% of those surveyed responding that they were able to live the lifestyle that they wanted to. (Forbes, 2018)
- A lot of freelancers love what they do and how they do it; 51% stated that there was no financial sum that could make them go back to a ‘normal’ job! (Forbes, 2018)
- Freelancing is also good for your health! Of full time freelancers who were surveyed, a very significant 64% said that they were healthier than when they left normal employment. (Forbes, 2018)
- Freelancers tend to be more politically active than employees, with a survey finding that they were 19 points higher in terms of political activity than employees. (Forbes, 2018)
- Most freelancers have only relatively recently made the transition, with 40% stating that they had been freelancing for just 1 to 3 years. (and.co, 2017)
- Freelancers tend to prioritise their own development and happiness, with 40% responding that they started freelancing in order to prioritise personal growth. (and.co, 2017)
- AI and automation are not perceived to be a major threat to most freelancers, with just 8% stating that they are concerned about it having an impact on their business. (and.co, 2017)
- Freelancers on the whole are pro-globalisation. When surveyed, a significant 71% stated that they believed globalisation provided more opportunities for expansion. (and.co, 2017)
- Freelancing also provides a lot of people with a way of working that employment is unable to give, with 42% of freelancers stating that they couldn’t do a normal job because of the limitations of their lifestyle. (Forbes, 2018)
- The biggest thing that freelancers hoped to see more of in the future was community, with 71% stating that they wanted more chances to connect and collaborate with others. (and.co, 2017)
- Freelancers are for the most part quite adaptable, even when it comes to whether or not they stay freelance; 53% stated that whether or not they remained self employed depended on what opportunities came their way. (and.co, 2017)
- The range in pay for freelancers is broad; content writers on Upwork tend to earn between 15$ an 80$ an hour. (Glassdoor, 2021)
- Technology has made finding freelance work easier, with 73% of those surveyed stating that it made finding new clients simpler and easier. (Upwork, 2019)
- Freelance work is attractive to employees as well, with 59% stating that it is likely that they will try freelance work at some point in the future. (Upwork, 2019)
- The United States had the biggest demand for online workers during the coronavirus pandemic at 40.8%, followed by Europe at 15.5%. (OSF, 2020)
- When surveyed, 32% of freelancers stated that the demand for freelancers had greatly decreased as a result of the pandemic, with 29% stating that it had slightly decreased. (Payoneer, 2020)
- Freelancing is becoming an increasingly popular option as a full time career, with 28% in 2019 stating that they wanted to freelance as a long term career, compared to 17% in 2014. (Upwork, 2019)
- Freelancing contributed around $1 trillion to the US economy in 2019, more than both construction and transportation. (Upwork, 2019)
- In 2019, the 57 million US workers who operated as freelancers represented a whopping 35% of the total workforce. (Upwork, 2019)
- Most freelancers chose to go freelance rather than being forced into it through their previous working conditions. Of those surveyed in 2019, 60% said they made the choice themselves, up from 53% in 2014. (Upwork, 2019)
- Those offering skilled services such as marketing, IT, and computer programming make up the largest group of freelancers, at 45% of the total. (Upwork, 2019)
- Freelancers predominantly believe that the future is bright, with a massive 91% stating that they believe the future of freelancing will be even better than it currently is, up 14 percent from 2014. (Upwork, 2019)
- Freelancers tend to earn more than employees, with the median rate at $20 an hour compared to $18.80 in the general workforce. (Upwork, 2019)
- Freelancers tend to have the same major concerns as ‘normal’ workers, both stating that their primary concerns are accessing affordable healthcare, a good savings account, and finding fair payment. (Upwork, 2019)
- Of those who were surveyed, 89% of freelancers stated that they wish their education had better prepared them for the world of freelance work. 52% stated that if they could, they would replace their college education with a program that prepared them for their current form of work. (Upwork, 2019)
- Freelancers are more likely than employees to have outstanding debts or college loans, at 46% compared to 36% of non-freelancers. (Upwork, 2019)
- Perceived financial instability was also significant, with 59% of freelancers stating that they felt as if they lived paycheck to paycheck, compared to 53% of employees. (Upwork, 2019)
- Freelancers have a predominantly positive view on continual training and skill development, with 81% stating they believe business skills are integral to their success along with a desire to seek further training. (Upwork, 2019)
- A significant 78% of freelancers state that they believe soft skills are just as important as their technical skills in order to succeed in their given niche. (Upwork, 2019)
- 54% of freelancers surveyed stated that they had sought further training in the 6 months before being surveyed, compared to 40% of employees. (Upwork, 2019)
- Skilled freelancers were even more likely to have sought further training, with a massive 65% stating they had sought training in the prior 6 months to being surveyed. (Upwork, 2019)
