'Net Features : freelance jobs

Freelance Web Professionals Earned Big in 2012

Michael Garrity — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 19:30:00 GMT

The Internet has changed the way we do a lot of things, and now it seems to even be altering the way we find employment (or new employees, depending on what you’re looking for). That is according to the new Global Online Employment Report just released this morning by the online work platform Elance.

It seems that the demand for online talent grew considerably, with both online hiring and freelancer earnings setting new records in 2012. In 2012, Elance saw an additional 345,000 new businesses (an increase of 54 percent) posting upwards of 80,000 job openings a month. Meanwhile, 779,000 freelancers (a 44 percent increase) signed up with the site to look for work. Throughout the year, these independent professionals earned over $200 million for the first time in the service’s history.

The most commonly hired professionals were mobile Web developers and Web programmers, followed closely by marketers and Web content professionals. This “tech talent gap” showed massive demand for experts with “top skills” in various Web and mobile development areas. For instance, HTML developers saw a 149 percent earnings increase, while PHP and CSS experts saw their income improve by 108 and 103 percent, respectively. Mobile-minded Android and iOS developers also saw increases of 146 and 132 percent.

But it wasn’t just developers raking in the big bucks. Freelance content writers and blog writers both reported increases (151 and 78 percent, respectively), while Web designers saw a 205 percent increase and graphic designers pulled in 165 percent more than they had in the past. Notably, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator experts saw major increases of 165 and 131 percent, respectively. In addition, digital marketers (with a 190 percent increase) and social media marketers (132 percent) also had a significantly more successful 2012.

All of the top 10 GDP countries increased online hiring by an average of 67 percent, including China (204 percent), Japan (109 percent), Italy (70 percent), Germany (50 percent), France (66 percent) and the United Kingdom (42 percent). Eastern Europe, specifically, saw some major earnings increases, largely from Web and programming jobs that leverage the region’s technical talent pool. Poland, Bulgaria and Ukraine are among the highest earning countries on the continent.

And for U.S. freelancers, there is some decidedly positive news from this Elance report, as many out-of-work professionals in regions of high unemployment are finding work and seeing their earnings increase. For example, Rhode Island, which has a 10.2 percent unemployment rate, saw earnings grow by 89 percent. Other states with employment rates in the eight and nine percent range that saw significant earnings increases include New Jersey, Mississippi, Michigan and California.

To check out the full Elance Global Online Employment Report in full, click here.

Strong Indicators for Web Jobs' Growth

Amberly Dressler — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 19:05:00 GMT

Desktop, smartphones and tablets aren’t the only digital properties getting a cloud makeover – online employment is too.

Elance, a global platform for online employment that helps businesses hire and manage “in the cloud”, surveyed more than 3,000 independent professionals and found that 57 percent reported an increase in 2012 income. Sixty-seven percent expect their income to increase in 2013, with the average freelancer expecting to earn 43% more next year.

"In just a few short years, freelancing has gone from a last resort option to a lucrative and fulfilling career," said Fabio Rosati, president and CEO of Elance. "As a 'Business of One', your potential is no longer constrained by where you live or the corporate hierarchy – the survey results clearly show that the online work opportunities are enormous.”

Perhaps most interesting is the survey respondents predict that Web programming and Web design freelance jobs will experience the highest and third-highest growth, respectively.

“Companies are investing heavily in Web and creative talent, signaling a shift in how businesses engage customers and commitment to growth,” said Rich Pearson, CMO of Elance. “Data from our latest Global Online Employment Report show that the new ‘Creative Economy’ is particularly vibrant; demand for creative skills such as Web design (+574 percent), voice acting (+295 percent) and content writing (+256 percent) were each up significantly over a year ago.

“While Web programming and design are our strongest categories, some of our fastest growing areas are in legal and accounting jobs, categories that didn’t exist on Elance a few years ago. The diversity of freelance jobs on Elance is pretty incredible and we love that. Any work that can be done remotely can be performed on Elance.”

The survey also reports higher productivity among freelancers, claiming 79 percent are more productive and even 70 percent claim they are happier working in this environment.

Also important to note, but not surprising, is the surge of the Millennial workforce (born after 1981) in this online freelance realm. Elance reports that this group is adopting online work faster than any other age segment.

Of those surveyed, 46 percent of Millennials freelance full-time and 26 percent have a full-time job and freelance on the side. Seventy-seven percent of this generation possess a bachelor’s degree or above.

For Elance’s full survey results, click here.

Online Freelance Jobs to Double in 2012

Linc Wonham — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:00:00 GMT

While global economies continue to struggle with job creation, online work thrived this year with 650,000 new jobs posted and cumulative earnings set to surpass $500 million, according to Elance’s just-released 2011 Online Employment Review.

The number of businesses hiring on Elance's online employment platform and the number of online professionals working on Elance grew more than 120 percent, the report says, and earnings for online professionals rose in more than 100 countries around the world. In the U.S., earnings rose in 43 out of 50 states, including some of the hardest-hit regions for unemployment such as Michigan, Nevada and South Carolina.

Other key data from the report includes the following:

Online Hiring
Businesses are developing innovative workforce models that blend full-time and part-time, local and remote, employed and contracted workers. The practice of hiring and managing talent online is spreading and 83 percent of small businesses surveyed by Elance plan to hire up to 50 percent of their workers as online contractors in the next 12 months.

More people are pursuing independent careers and using online platforms like Elance to reinvent their careers. The 2011 Elance survey of online freelance professionals indicated that nearly 1 in 3 workers began freelancing to be their own boss and work on the type of projects they love. The top benefits of online work cited include the ability to control their own schedule (90 percent), follow their passion (87 percent) and eliminate the commute (85 percent).

Hot Skills in Demand
The number of businesses seeking to hire online workers doubled in 2011. An analysis of the jobs posted on Elance this year highlights the following skills:

•    Software development skills such as HTML5 (+238 percent), Mobile (+137 percent), WordPress (+100 percent), Facebook (+66 percent) and Twitter (+47 percent)
•    Creative skills like Graphic Design (+176 percent) and Content Writing (+72 percent)
•    Marketing skills such as Internet Marketing (+132 percent), Marketing Communications (+53 percent) and Telemarketing (52 percent)
•    Administrative skills, including Transcription (+114 percent), Administrative Support (+87 percent) and Data Entry (+69 percent)
•    Consulting skills ranging from Product Manufacturing (+186 percent), Architectural Design (+185 percent), Financial Analysis (+140 percent) and Legal (+86 percent) to Business Strategy (+76 percent)

Predictions for 2012
In 2012, the market for online contingent work is set to double as more businesses across the globe hire and manage workers online for the first time, says the report. Below are four trends that Elance's research shows may shape the world of work in 2012:

•    The rise of the global, virtual workplace. Companies will increasingly tap into the online workforce across geographic boundaries to support key business initiatives. More professionals will build independent careers by working with multiple clients all over the world. Online contractors will collaborate with each other remotely, across geographies and time zones. Technological advancements enabling better online collaboration, telepresence, skills assessment and identity verification, will make significant contributions to the new virtual workplace.

• Professional services become America’s next great export. The global demand for U.S. talent has increased steadily over the past year and is set to grow even faster as online platforms like Elance and oDesk break down global barriers and open up opportunities for collaboration. In 2011, U.S.-based contractors exported their services to more than 140 countries, and global hiring of U.S. professionals saw a significant increase in more than 60 countries.

• Increased adoption of the contingent workforce elevates the importance of compliance. To tap the power of a flexible workforce, companies around the world will turn to online employment platforms to facilitate compliance with their internal controls and evolving government regulations.

•    Promising online careers for 2012. Online hiring for specialized skills will continue to expand in 2012. Promising online careers for 2012 include the following:

o    Software Developer
o    Visual Designer
o    User Experience Designer
o    Digital Marketer
o    Technical Writer
o    Web Researcher
o    Data Analyst
o    Content Moderator
o    Accountant
o    Distributed Workforce Manager

Online Jobs, Freelance Earnings Continue to Grow

Linc Wonham — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:00:00 GMT

Demand for Web contractors grew 32 percent in the first quarter of 2011, according to Elance’s most recent report. More than 135,000 jobs were posted with the online employment platform, and earnings grew 12 percent from the previous quarter.

Earnings for online workers increased in 40 out of 50 states, and more than a dozen cities with double-digit unemployment ranked in the top 50 earning cities on Elance. Businesses on Elance are posting nearly 50,000 new jobs each month, and online workers have earned a total of over $360 million on the platform.

Notable hiring trends of the first quarter of 2011 include the following:

Help (Definitely) Wanted
After cutting headcount to the bare minimum over the past few years, businesses are gearing up for growth in 2011 and adding resources to their teams. Many businesses are adopting hybrid hiring models, filling select positions on staff and supplementing with skill-specific hires online. New York tops the list of hiring cities, followed by Los Angeles, San Francisco and Brooklyn.

Show Me the Money
Leading the list of the Top 50 earning cities on Elance are New York, Austin, Texas and Los Angeles. Demonstrating that high earnings are not limited to urban metropolises, the Top 50 earning cities also included Plant City, Florida (No. 30), Chaska, Minnesota (No. 35) and Littleton, Colorado (No. 50).

What Unemployment Rate?
Nevada, with currently the highest unemployment rate in the U.S., saw online earnings grow 16 percent in the first quarter. California, with the second highest unemployment rate, grew 12 percent in online earnings. Oklahoma and Maine grew a whopping 118 percent and 65 percent, respectively, while Illinois grew an impressive 48 percent.

Most Creative City
Amarillo, Texas has retained its number one position for contractor earnings in the creative category on Elance. Austin, Texas jumped 10 spots in contractor earnings for IT skills in Q1 of 2011. San Jose, California leapfrogged three traditionally strong operations cities in Texas to become the Most Organized City, and New York City holds the No. 1 spot in Marketing.

Homeshoring Web Development in a Recession

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:07:00 GMT

Perhaps business isn't really that bad after all. U.S. buyers are increasingly homeshoring their software and Web development work, according to oDesk. Work done in the U.S. has grown at a rate of 367% from 2007 to 2008, according to the popular freelance marketplace for online workteams.

"When people in the U.S. think of outsourcing, they typically think of lower-cost countries," said oDesk CEO Gary Swart. "But, we're seeing an interesting trend of U.S. companies increasingly turning to U.S.-based talent for their contracting needs."

Unfortunately, that may be thanks to the rise in layoffs. There is clearly an increase in the number of highly qualified developers available for projects (as seen below) which takes away from growth in other countries such as India and Russia. The influx of skilled developers also drives hourly rates higher.