{"id":3730,"date":"2022-09-05T20:34:55","date_gmt":"2022-09-05T20:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/?p=3730"},"modified":"2025-12-17T11:33:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T11:33:45","slug":"freelancer-frenzy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/freelancer-frenzy","title":{"rendered":"Freelancer Frenzy: When the Side Hustle Becomes the Constant"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As a concept, freelancing refers to hiring temporary workers, such as copywriters, graphic designers, online tutors, and <a href=\"\/tutorials\/freelance-web-developer\">web developers<\/a>.&nbsp; But not only in the IT sector. It also entails everyone from pop-up baristas and language tutors to drivers for one of the many travel apps available.<\/p><p>No wonder freelancing has become a primary source of income for many people as they enjoy the independence of the freelance economy.&nbsp;<\/p><p>In 2022, freelancing can mean any sort of work that goes against the traditional 9-5 structures. Covid-19 and the worry of impending recessions, to name a few global anxieties, have contributed to the current freelance climate. As a result, many flexible jobs and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/tutorials\/best-side-hustle-ideas\">side hustle opportunities<\/a> that seemed implausible even a decade ago have emerged.&nbsp;<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\"><h2 id=\"h-table-of-contents\">Table of contents<\/h2><nav><ul><li><a href=\"#h-why-freelance-work\">Why Freelance Work?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-why-is-the-freelance-economy-flourishing\">Why Is the Freelance Economy Flourishing?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-data-speaks-volumes\">Data Speaks Volumes<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-changing-landscapes-changing-terms\">Changing Landscapes, Changing Terms<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-why-freelancing-is-the-future\">Why Freelancing Is The Future&nbsp;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-freelance-work\"><strong>Why Freelance Work?<\/strong><\/h2><p>The Bureau of Labor Statistics <a href=\"https:\/\/info.mbopartners.com\/rs\/mbo\/images\/MBO_2021_State_of_Independence_Research_Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">research<\/a> showed that the percentage of people quitting their job rose from<strong><em> <\/em>1.6 % in April 2020 to 6.4 % in August 2021<\/strong>. The most significant shift is that many people are not moving onto a new payroll company but leaving for freelance independence.&nbsp;<\/p><p>After falling 7% in 2020, mainly due to the pandemic, the overall number of independent workers grew sharply in 2021: <strong>up 34%, to 51.1 million<\/strong> from 38.2 million in 2020. The larger group of part-time independents, who regularly work fewer than 15 hours per week,<strong> rose 39%, or 9.1 million<\/strong>, from 24.6 million to 34.1 million. The fastest growing segment of Part-Time Independent is so-called occasional independents&mdash;people who work regularly but part-time and without set hours. Their numbers rose sharply, from 15.8 million in 2020 to <strong>23.9 million in 2021, up 51%<\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/p><p>With doors open to working in co-spaces, allowing networking and sharing ideas, many people<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/softy-conquer-a-niche-and-scale\"> get more creative<\/a>. Furthermore, young people understand they may not be able to afford a mortgage, opting for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/tutorials\/how-to-start-a-travel-blog\">work that frees them to travel<\/a> and see the world.&nbsp;<\/p><p>And so the pull for freelance makes sense; choosing one&rsquo;s hours, working spaces, and clients.&nbsp;<\/p><p>Success stories such as running a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/movement-lab\">boutique gym<\/a> or finding a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/international-design-day-5-pros-on-what-makes-design-work\">flair in design<\/a> have opened doors for many niche ideas to come alive. The latter is possible through people <a href=\"\/website-builder\">creating their own websites<\/a> to promote their businesses or hiring a web designer and keeping the freelance economy turning.&nbsp;<\/p><p>It might sound pretty simple, but the necessity of the internet in everyday life is the driving force behind freelance work culture. Remote working impacts this heavily; &ldquo;In the United States alone, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.apollotechnical.com\/statistics-on-remote-workers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">more than 4.7 million people<\/a> work remotely at least half the time in the United States. <strong>44%<\/strong> of companies do not allow remote work, and<strong> 16%<\/strong> of companies hire remote only workers.&rdquo;<\/p><p>Without guaranteeing a stable and secure job as it was once known, many began to loom inwards at their knowledge base and how they could apply it.&nbsp;<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-is-the-freelance-economy-flourishing\"><strong>Why Is the Freelance Economy Flourishing?<\/strong><\/h2><p>The development of technology, in particular, the use of apps to buy and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/tutorials\/profitable-things-to-make-and-sell\">sell goods online<\/a> as well as connect customers with freelancers worldwide, has enabled more individuals to pursue their passions outside regular working hours.<\/p><p>Covid-19 has blurred the lines at work and helped people be more prone and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/tutorials\/how-to-start-an-online-business\">start doing business online<\/a>.<\/p><p>In many traditional workplaces, flexible work is available for at least a day or two per week. It is becoming the norm. As a result, companies uncompromising in this are deemed unattractive to prospective employees.<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/freelancers-in-united-states-2017-to-2028.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1069\" height=\"980\" src=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/freelancers-in-united-states-2017-to-2028.png\/w=1024,h=1024,fit=scale-down\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3733\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/freelancers-in-united-states-2017-to-2028.png\/w=1069,fit=scale-down 1069w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/freelancers-in-united-states-2017-to-2028.png\/w=300,fit=scale-down 300w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/freelancers-in-united-states-2017-to-2028.png\/w=1024,fit=scale-down 1024w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/freelancers-in-united-states-2017-to-2028.png\/w=768,fit=scale-down 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1069px) 100vw, 1069px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-data-speaks-volumes\"><strong>Data Speaks Volumes<\/strong><\/h2><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/tutorials\/ecommerce-statistics\">eCommerce industry statistics<\/a> prove that the industry is booming. <a href=\"https:\/\/ddiy.co\/freelance-statistics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Let&rsquo;s go into more detail<\/a>:&nbsp;<\/p><ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>There are approximately 57 million freelancers in the US.<\/li><li>An estimated 59% of freelancers in the US who responded to the survey are male freelancers.<\/li><li>86% of freelancers work from home or in coffee shops.<\/li><li>84% of freelancers say work lets them live the lifestyle they want.<\/li><li>64% of freelancers said their overall health has improved.<\/li><li>46% of freelancers choose their job because of the flexibility.<\/li><li>41% of freelancers find new work through their past clients.<\/li><li>The US had the most demand for freelancers in 2020.<\/li><li>The freelance industry makes up almost 5% of the US GDP.<\/li><li>53% of all Generation Z workers are freelancers.<\/li><\/ol><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/freelance-statistics.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1069\" height=\"798\" src=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/freelance-statistics.png\/w=1024,h=1024,fit=scale-down\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3732\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/freelance-statistics.png\/w=1069,fit=scale-down 1069w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/freelance-statistics.png\/w=300,fit=scale-down 300w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/freelance-statistics.png\/w=1024,fit=scale-down 1024w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/freelance-statistics.png\/w=768,fit=scale-down 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1069px) 100vw, 1069px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-changing-landscapes-changing-terms\"><strong>Changing Landscapes, Changing Terms<\/strong><\/h2><p>In the past five years, the phrase <strong>side hustle<\/strong> rose from 11% to 75%,<strong><em> <\/em><\/strong><strong>freelancing<\/strong> from 20% to 82%, and <strong>passive income<\/strong> from 28% to 75%. This <a href=\"https:\/\/trends.google.com\/trends\/explore?date=today%205-y&amp;q=side%20hustle,passive%20income,freelancing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Trends data<\/a> represents search interest relative to the highest point on the chart for the given region and time.&nbsp;<\/p><p>(A value of 100 is the peak popularity for the term. A value of 50 means that the word is half as popular. A score of 0 means there was not enough data for this term)<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/google-trends.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1153\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/google-trends.png\/w=1024,h=1024,fit=scale-down\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3738\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/google-trends.png\/w=1153,fit=scale-down 1153w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/google-trends.png\/w=300,fit=scale-down 300w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/google-trends.png\/w=1024,fit=scale-down 1024w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/09\/google-trends.png\/w=768,fit=scale-down 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1153px) 100vw, 1153px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-freelancing-is-the-future\"><strong>Why Freelancing Is The Future&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2><p>Recessions and global pandemics aside, the future of freelancing feels full of promise. There is constant growth in co-working spaces, with more nuanced professions, such as bespoke PR and creative web design. There is a distrust in the air with employee engagement down with more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zenefits.com\/workest\/employee-turnover-infographic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">600 US businesses<\/a> with 50-500 employees; <strong>63.3% <\/strong>of companies say retaining employees is more demanding than hiring them.<em>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/em><\/p><p>News travels fast; in the younger generations, the feeling that there are possibilities lying outside the traditional workplace has spurred the freelance movement forward.&nbsp;<\/p><p>The increase has risen rapidly, and the industry keeps moving faster. In the United States alone, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/advice\/freelancing-statistics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">58 million people<\/a> regularly perform freelance work, with<strong> $1.2 trillion <\/strong>from freelance contributions to the United States economy.&nbsp;<\/p><p>According to McKinsey, <strong>500 million freelancers<\/strong> will be working through platforms to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/tutorials\/make-money-online\/\">make money online<\/a> before 2030. Not only is becoming freelance a way to be completely independent with your time, resources, and skills, but these statistics show a healthy marketplace growing each year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As a concept, freelancing refers to hiring temporary workers, such as copywriters, graphic designers, online tutors, and web developers.\u00a0 But not only in the IT sector. It also en\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":360,"featured_media":3731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[171],"tags":[],"hashtags":[],"class_list":["post-3730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"hreflangs":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/360"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3730"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3730\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8415,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3730\/revisions\/8415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3730"},{"taxonomy":"hashtags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtags?post=3730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}