The U.S. Freelance Workforce Has Grown 7 Percent in Recent Years

More than one in three (35 percent) Americans freelanced in 2018, according to a survey of 6,001 working adults by Upwork and Freelancers Union cited by Business Wire . The freelance workforce has grown from 53.0 million to 56.7 million, or 7 percent, in five years. The nonfreelance workforce, meanwhile, grew just 2 percent (from 103.0 million to 105.3 million) in five years. Sixty-one percent of freelancers now freelance by choice compared to 53 percent in 2014. This is driven especially by growth among the younger generations and full-time freelancers. In fact, according to the research, the younger generations are freelancing more than any other generation in the workforce. Full-time freelancers now make up 28 percent of freelancers (up 11 percentage points since 2014).