Report: The number of people working in freelance jobs in the U.S. is at an all-time high

The latest annual Freelance Forward study from Upwork notes freelancers are optimistic about future prospects

December 12, 2023

If you’re tired of the traditional 9-to-5 work schedule, you are not alone. According to the Upwork Research Institute, the number of U.S. freelance professionals increased to nearly 64 million – an all-time high – in the past year. That’s 38% of the current workforce and an increase of four million from the year before.

The Freelance Forward 2023 study from Upwork is a survey of 3,000 professionals and notes, “The data reveals that professionals turn to freelancing for greater flexibility, autonomy, and control of their careers.”

Respondents say, the appeal of freelance work includes being their own bosses. “They determine when, where, and for whom they engage in work, enabling them to control their schedules and lives.”

Of the 60% of all freelance workers who work remotely, 34% say they all of their duties are performed out of office – with 18% saying “a little of their work” is done remotely.

The organization’s 10^th annual study says the freelance workforce is an important part of the U.S. labor market and economy. “This year, freelancers contributed $1.27 trillion to the U.S. economy in annual earnings.”

The report says in 2023, 47% of all freelancers have provided services such as computer programming, marketing, IT, and business consulting. Additionally, 23% of all freelancers created influencer content including livestream services, social media videos, images, or blogs.

Notably, the report states, over the past year, “52% of all Gen Z professionals and 44% of all Millennial professionals performed freelance work.” But older workers have been part of the freelance pool in 2023, as well – “13% of all U.S. freelancers were aged 59 or above.”

The surveyed professionals were asked about their optimism to work as freelancers. “When asked about the future, 85% of freelancers say the best days for freelancing are ahead.”

The report also explains, “Freelancers are overwhelmingly optimistic about personal career growth (80%), salary increases (76%), future job opportunities (74%), and personal development (84%).”

Read Upwork’s latest Freelance Forward report here.

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Dana Beth Ardi

Executive Committee

Dana Beth Ardi, PhD, Executive Committee, is a thought leader and expert in the fields of executive search, talent management, organizational design, assessment, leadership and coaching. As an innovator in the human capital movement, Ardi creates enhanced value in companies by matching the most sought after talent with the best opportunities. Ardi coaches boards and investors on the art and science of building high caliber management teams. She provides them with the necessary skills to seek out and attract top-level management, to design the ideal organizational architectures and to deploy people against strategy. Ardi unearths the way a business works and the most effective way for people to work in them.

Ardi is an experienced business executive and senior consultant who leverages business organizational transformation through talent strategies. She uses her knowledge and experience to develop talent strategies to enhance revenue and profit contributions. She has a deep expertise in change management and organizational effectiveness and has designed and built high performance cultures. Ardi has significant experience in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, IPO’s and turnarounds.

Ardi is an expert on the multi-generational workforce. She understands the four intersecting generations of workers coming together in contemporary companies, each with their own mindsets, leadership and communications styles, values and motivations. Ardi is sought after to assist companies manage and thrive by bringing the generations together. Her book, Fall of the Alphas: How Beta Leaders Win Through Connection, Collaboration and Influence, will be published by St. Martin’s Press. The book reflects Ardi’s deep expertise in understanding organizations and our changing society. It focuses on building a winning culture, how companies must grow and evolve, and how talent influences and shapes communities of work. This is what she has coined “Corporate Anthropology.” It is a playbook on how modern companies must meet challenges – culturally, globally, digitally, across genders and generations.

Ardi is currently the Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, LLC, a consulting company that provides human capital advisory and innovative solutions to companies building value through people. Corporate Anthropology works with organizations, their cultures, the way they grow and develop, and the people who are responsible for forming their communities of work.

Prior to her position at Corporate Anthropology Advisors, Ardi served as a Partner/Managing Director at the private equity firms CCMP Capital and JPMorgan Partners. She was a partner at Flatiron Partners, a venture capital firm working with early state companies where she pioneered the human capital role within an investment portfolio.

Ardi holds a BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as a Masters degree and PhD from Boston College. She started her career as professor at the Graduate Center at Fordham University in New York.