By: Sophia Elise
The Gig Economy has been manifesting steady growth in the last decade. Now, it’s fueled by an influx of highly skilled professionals who are seeking more flexible alternatives to traditional work environments.
Companies and hiring managers are well-aware of this and are turning more to freelancers for niche roles and projects that require specific skills. Last year, companies in the US spent $1.3 trillion on the gig workforce alone. The following industries have the most freelancers as of 2022 — so if you’re looking to hire new talent, these fields would be good places to start.
Web Development
While web development companies were able to provide employment to 174,300 people in the US alone, you’d be surprised to find that there’s also an abundance of competitive web developers who prefer working freelance. Working freelance gives them a lot of pros, such as working on their own time, accepting and applying for projects they’re interested in, and avoiding getting stuck in a corporate hole. Freelance web developers are a fantastic choice for startups and growing businesses. You may find that they have a better knack for keeping the tone and feel of a website consistent and may also prove to be more cost-efficient and time-saving in the long run.
The Legal Industry
Hourly rates charged by attorneys are often double or triple the rates of paralegals for the same task. Due to the growth of client demand for cheaper, more efficient delivery of legal services, there’s also a growing number of freelance paralegals. Moreover, becoming a paralegal entails earning a paralegal certificate, which is simpler and more convenient than many might think. Those who can commit full-time for accreditation can obtain it in around three months, but even students or part-time workers can get their certificate in just a year. Further study is optional, which makes this a flexible and sought-after freelance career. There also are many other types of freelancers in the legal industry, including lawyers, paralegals, court reporters, and legal secretaries, to name a few.
Digital Marketing
Technology, digital marketing, and design workers are some of the most in-demand freelancing jobs at the moment. This can be attributed to the increased importance of marketing brought about by the pandemic— the average person now spends more of their time online, and businesses need to take advantage of that.
Businesses are seeing the benefits of becoming more digitized and are prioritizing the search for more tech-savvy team members to help them get their products and services to more customers. Moreover, marketing is a broad umbrella, and there are thousands of freelancers all with different skillsets and specializations, so you’re sure to find something that will suit your business needs.
Customer Service
Statistics are showing that e-commerce has become bigger than ever, with online retail sales jumping from $519 billion in 2018 to $791 billion in 2020. However, the lack of customer support is a persistent pain point.
Many companies have directed more attention to these departments, and while customer service jobs were traditionally full-time positions, freelancers have been filling in to serve customer needs. Freelancers often work in this specific field because of the opportunity to do remote work or pick their hours. Moreover, companies can consider customer service professionals from around the world, which means a global recruitment pool.
The New Era of Work
So many of today’s freelancers are highly skilled, incredibly driven, and have a wide range of experiences under their belt from working in so many different environments. And because we are seeing that the future of work is hybrid, it’s time for companies to diversify their teams and find the most efficient solution through hiring the right freelancers.
Looking to hire freelancers? AllWork can help you onboard, manage, and pay this flexible workforce. We offer fast, easy, and compliant payment options. Get in touch at info@alloworknow.com to learn more and see a demo of our platform.
