
U.S. Freelance Workforce, Now 56.7M People, Grew 3.7M Since 2014 - prostoalex
https://www.upwork.com/press/2018/10/31/freelancing-in-america-2018/
======
mberning
I'm not buying it. Just today stats came out that there were a record ~150
million employed. No way 1/4-1/3 of those are freelancing.

edit: link
[https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osec/osec20181102](https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osec/osec20181102)

~~~
drawkbox
Take a look at the people that file W2 (employee) vs 1099-MISC (contractor or
freelancer), in 2014 W2s were 234m and 1099-MISC were 91m [1].

That means lots of contractors, lots of part-time and lots of employed but
just over a third are contractors/freelancing whether part time or fulltime.

[1] [https://www.mercatus.org/publication/evaluating-
growth-1099-...](https://www.mercatus.org/publication/evaluating-
growth-1099-workforce)

~~~
dv_dt
Perhaps because the Mercatus institite is funded by the Koch brothers, the
conclusions drawn play up the individual choice and down the forced by
economics to do fill in work as a contractor or freelancer. The data shows a
growth, but the conclusion doesn't seem to actually link to the anything
directly shown by the data.

~~~
drawkbox
Didn't know that but you can find other sources with the same data [1][2].

[1] [https://qz.com/work/1324292/gig-economy-data-why-the-us-
depa...](https://qz.com/work/1324292/gig-economy-data-why-the-us-department-
of-labor-numbers-are-misleading/)

[2]
[https://www.bls.gov/news.release/conemp.nr0.htm](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/conemp.nr0.htm)

------
ravenstine
Not too surprising since wages have long been stagnant and fewer people are
able to get sustainable careers. Then there's the staggering debt. People are
looking for more ways to pay ends meet, and I bet most people in the next 15
years are going to need a side hustle in order to live comfortably and retire.

~~~
bilbo0s
> _and I bet most people in the next 15 years are going to need a side hustle
> in order to live comfortably and retire..._

In fairness, a lot of people retiring _now_ are engaging "side-hustles" to
make ends meet. I think it's just the reality of the economy right now.

~~~
haskellandchill
We could all be working less but instead we’re not because reasons.

~~~
ravenstine
That's true, people could become more minimalist and work a lot less.
Actually, minimalism seems to be a growing trend right now, but I think this
has more to do with necessity than minimalism as a philosophy. For me, it's a
little of both.

~~~
bilbo0s
I think that's the case for most people. Especially as we age, healthcare
becomes more important. And it's the healthcare that gets a lot of people.

(At least that's the case in the US. I don't really know much about other
nations and their retirement setups.)

~~~
isostatic
In the UK we treat healthcare as a common problem across the country.

I believe in the US you only do this with the most expensive, wealthiest
people (medicare), and let those who actually work for a living be ravaged by
the russian roulette of things like cancer.

There was a suggestion that people with large amount of unearned wealth (land)
in the UK should have to pay towards their care homes out of whatever capital
they had left at the end of their life, rather than increasing the burden on
the non-wealthy workers who can barely make rent, let alone buy a house.

That went down like a lead baloon with the wealthy pensioners, as if forcing
brexit on the young wasn't enough, they want the young to pay for their
healthcare.

There are no major parties suggesting mass euthanasia of those age 70, I
suspect such a party would do well.

~~~
JoeAltmaier
Strange - health care is like a civil right, unless they have money then its
an excuse to fleece people? Do I have that right?

~~~
isostatic
It’s a right, like defence, policing and education. It gets paid for by those
that work hardest/smartest/longest. The Tory plan was to get those that
benefited from unearned gained in wealth to pay for it too.

~~~
JoeAltmaier
Hm. Or paid for by those that happen to have interest on accounts, and do
nothing for it.

Anyway, we decide on civil rights because we're a just society, not out of
some column on a financial ledger. They should be separate issues.

~~~
isostatic
The idea was the country would increase funding for the elderly, and increase
taxation on the rich. This was rejected, mainly by rich old people.

------
deyan
For those curious, the methodology is on slide 3 here:
[https://www.slideshare.net/upwork/freelancing-in-
america-201...](https://www.slideshare.net/upwork/freelancing-in-
america-2018-120288770/1)

I am genuinely surprised. 7% in 5 years is really not that much, especially
given the constant media articles talking about the massive proliferation of
the "gig economy."

Yet another example of the difference between reality and reporting.

~~~
drawkbox
True, but that trickle growth over time has led to a large chunk of the US who
are freelancing.

> _" More than one in three (35%) Americans freelanced this year."_

1/3 of the country freelancing at some point is massive, especially since the
internet is really only about 2 decades old in terms of being able to,
including the late 90s.

That is a huge market and probably going to end up 1/2 or 2/3 of the country
over the next decade [1].

Plus, younger people are freelancing more so a massive growth wave is coming
to freelancing: 16-21 is at 47%, 22-34 is at 43%, 35-44 is at 35%, 45-54 is
28% and 55+ is 28% [2]

[1] [https://www.upwork.com/press/2017/10/17/freelancing-in-
ameri...](https://www.upwork.com/press/2017/10/17/freelancing-in-
america-2017/)

[2] [https://www.statista.com/chart/10981/freelancers-in-
america/](https://www.statista.com/chart/10981/freelancers-in-america/)

~~~
refurb
People can hold a fully time job and freelance on the side.

~~~
walshemj
Not with most developed countries employment laws and standard employment
contracts with out their employers permission.

~~~
ghaff
Freelancing in the sense of filing a 1099-MISC is quite common.

If you're a landlord, you'll be filing a 1099-MISC

Essentially any royalties, 1099-MISC

Have any sort of side business even if wholly unrelated to your job,
1099-MISC.

You get into any actual consulting work and, yes, it becomes more problematic
with many companies, but still many do it.

I've very much been a full-time employee for essentially all of my career, and
I've probably filed 1099-MISCs most years for one thing or another even
without having been a landlord.

------
samfisher83
Is this actually a good thing with the lack of social safety nets if you get
sick or injured? You have to pay payroll tax. Its not like Uber or Grubhub are
a good paying job. I guess you have freedom, but one accident can ruin you. If
you work for a big company at least you get health, short and longterm
insurance etc.

~~~
phil248
I took much bigger risks (changed industries, started a company, did freelance
work) once Obamacare was passed. I never went without health insurance, and it
was subsidized during those periods when I could least afford it.

It's insane to me that conservatives somehow landed on the side of opposing a
system that encourages professional independence and risk taking. They talk a
big game about "small business owners" but make it as dangerous as possible to
try and become one.

~~~
csdreamer7
Don't know why you are being downvoted. ACA plans are limited and pricey, but
health insurance before Obamacare was a joke. Lifetime caps and pregnancy
being a preexisting condition, and then trying to get health care by yourself.

We really need an option to buy into medicaid. No deductibles, no co-pays,
dental included, network is limited, but so are ACA plans.

~~~
osrec
Can I ask, would a system like the NHS in the UK ever be viable in the US?

It's not perfect, but it certainly gives us UK residents surety that we are
always fairly protected if we were to become unhealthy. Also, they literally
don't stop providing care until you're either better or pass away. In that
sense, the NHS is really quite amazing.

~~~
specialist
Not yet. (I support friends who work on this policy reform.)

Meanwhile...

I now advocate "buy-in". Incrementally extend eligibility of existing large
plans (eg local govt, self insured corps).

One side effect will be to increase customer bargaining power (vis-a-vis
insurers).

Rock, paper, scissors.

------
diminish
I failed to get a single project on upwork despite one year of bidding as a
JS, Rails dev etc. I've also watched youtube videos and read endless blogs how
to get your first project.

So -1 here if you've included me.

~~~
max0563
I never had any luck on Upwork either, so I completely dropped it. Those
freelancing platforms, imo, are really not great. You won't be able to compete
with someone who is willing to do the work for next to nothing.

Believe it or not, I have pretty much gotten all of my Freelance work for the
last two years from Reddit. A seriously undervalued resource for this kind of
thing.

~~~
mrhappyunhappy
Care to describe your Reddit process?

------
mwfunk
I can't tell if this is good or bad. I tend to think of freelancers as being
people who are lucky and successful enough to afford to be freelancers, but in
this context it could also mean people who can only find sources of income
that don't provide benefits- short term jobs without healthcare. If those
numbers are rising, then it's not a good thing. I don't know how to interpret
it.

~~~
ilaksh
I believe it's more of the latter group. I have been a freelancer mainly
because I needed to work from home. The vast majority of opportunities that I
have seen have been lower pay and of course without benefits. Such as almost
all jobs on Upwork.

The other side is companies figured out ways to avoid classifying their
employees as employees. See Uber for example.

------
Apocryphon
Betcha there'd be even more freelancers and entrepreneurs if there was a
reliable universal healthcare system.

~~~
whb07
What’s the state of freelance and entrepreneurship in countries where there is
a socialized healthcare system? I think this would be easy to look up for
places like Canada, UK, France etc?

~~~
rb808
Usually in Europe/Japan/Australia/Canada there are fewer entrepreneurs. Maybe
its because a wider safety net and narrower differences between rich and poor
makes the leap to start a business less rewarding and worthwhile. Maybe people
are less comfortable with taking risks.

~~~
ridewinter
Sweden is second only to Silicon Valley when it comes to unicorns. My friends
there actually credit their safety net - it’s easier to take risks when you
know if you fail you won’t end up sleeping in the street.

[https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/why-does-sweden-
produ...](https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/why-does-sweden-produce-so-
many-startups/)

~~~
buboard
makes it easier for companies to hire/fire people too

------
djrogers
Is 6% growth over 4 years a lot? Is that faster or slower growth than normal
over the past 10/20/50 years?

------
perseusprime11
Isn’t Uber & Lyft driving this increase?

------
tmaly
I would be interested to know which specific technical skills make you most
valuable as a freelancer

------
jothezero
Bullshit, not usa workers

------
fgheorghe
Isnt this what the us is about? Financial freedom. Contracting or freelancing
are the first steps in that direction.

~~~
TomK32
No, financial freedom is achieved by other means: responsible spending and
staying free of debt.

~~~
dreamdu5t
I would say financial freedom is not having to trade labor to survive. From
that perspective, responsible spending doesn't lead to financial freedom, but
ownership of capital that pays for living expenses.

For example, someone who pays their living expenses by collecting rent from
property they own is financially free. A software engineer who has to go to
work 9-5 or starve is not financially free, even if they are responsibly
spending and free of debt.

~~~
fgheorghe
My thoughts exactly. And freelancing can get you there - provided it pays
more, and it can teach you how to be less reliant on a monthly paycheck.

