Freelancer.com reports a major rise in new users to the platform as the UK grips with growing inflation and soaring cost of living
New data from Freelancer.com (ASX: FLN, OTCQX: FLNCF), the world’s largest freelancing marketplace by number of users and jobs posted, released today reveals a surge in new freelancers and employers across the United Kingdom.
As the UK endures a cost of living crisis, with inflation soaring and the cost of basic necessities like food and energy increasing, more and more people are turning to freelancing as a way to make ends meet. Simultaneously, both workers and businesses are seeking ways to reduce costs and increase their output amid the current economic climate.
The number of new users in the UK has increased by more than half (57%) in the last few months – increasing from 7,289 new users per month in June to 11,513 new users in September.
The recent rush of users has surpassed the COVID new user peak seen in 2020 as the world went into lockdown and implemented rules for social distancing. Freelancer.com recorded 117,620 new UK users in 2020, which was just surpassed by the new record of 119,910 in 2022.
“We’ve recently seen a major surge in new UK users to the platform, with sign ups almost doubling to what they were back in June. With the soaring cost of living and inflation increasing, we’re seeing more and more people from the UK join the platform to work as freelancers as a way of earning additional income alongside their full-time job,” said Sebastián Siseles, Vice President, International at Freelancer.com. “We’re also seeing an increase in employers joining the platform. This is likely due to the recent layoffs at tech companies across Europe, with employers turning to freelancers to support tasks in the interim.”
Freelance jobs relating to technology have recently been revealed to be the fastest growing jobs on the platform in 2022. The Freelancer Q2 Fast 50 Quarterly Index, which is based on data from 306,000 jobs posted on Freelancer.com over Q2 2022, found that jobs for Software Development, Statistical Analysis and Computer Security all ranked in the highest growing project category for the quarter.
The growth in tech related jobs coincides with the recent tech layoffs in European tech companies and ever increasing skills gap for tech jobs. This trend is expected to continue throughout 2022.
UK Earning Potential
On average, a freelancer in the UK is earning £208 per job on Freelancer.com. This means that doing as little as just one job per week could see a freelancer earning an additional £832 per month or £9,984 per year.
The highest earning projects being currently awarded to UK freelancers in the past three months are all related to app development and tech, including a project to create an iOS app for £37,541, a £14,205 project for a web developer and a £5,744UX design project to design a game.
The highest value project that’s currently live on Freelancer and uploaded by a UK employer is currently offering £8,085 for a project seeking a team of developers to support with creating a new travel booking platform.
Figure 2: Job posting on Freelancer.com
Most In-demand skills in the UK
The data also reveals the most in-demand skills for freelancers based in the UK. These rankings provide insights into how freelancers can excel on the platform. The top 10 most popular project types for UK freelancers over the last four months include:
- Article Writing
- Article Rewriting
- Content Writing
- Copywriting
- Data Entry
- Blog
- Copy Typing
- Graphic Design
- Editing
- Proofreading
The most popular jobs on the platform globally are jobs relating to Graphic Design, Website Design, PHP, HTML and Photoshop. Jobs for design are the leading category and made up half of the 306,000 jobs posted to the platform in Q2. The abundance of these jobs means these are one of the best skills to have for any new freelancers wanting to join the platform.
UK’s Leading Growth Cities for Freelancers
In total, there are 1,022,635 freelancers in the UK who currently have an account on Freelancer.com. Over the past 12 months, freelancing has grown across the following cities:
- London – 31% increase
- Croydon – 21% increase
- Slough – 19% increase
- Coventry – 14% increase
- Ilford – 14% increase
Another helpful article can be found at https://www.toptal.com/insights/future-of-work/redefining-retirement.
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