Fiverr Report: US Freelancers Made $286 Billion in 2022

Leading freelance platform Fiverr released its sixth annual Freelance Economic Impact Report, a study on freelance workers and markets. Fiverr partnered with Rockbridge Associates and the Freelancers Union and used data from the US Census Bureau to complete the study.

According to the study’s findings, freelancers in the US comprised 4.1% of the total workforce and 1% of the total US GDP in 2022. More precisely, there were 6.7 million independent workers in the US who earned around $286 billion in 2022 (a 10% increase compared to 2021) and “feel financially secure with pursuing independent work despite economic uncertainty.”

The study further unveiled that having multiple sources of income directly impacts how freelancers feel about their job security. For this reason, some professionals who do independent work also hold permanent positions – although 60% of the respondents state that in the event of a lay off, they would likely continue to freelance rather than look for a traditional job.

More women than men value freelance work over traditional forms of employment. Freelancers, in general, say the ability to “work from anywhere” is the number one reason for choosing the independent route.

Although New York City is 2022’s capital of independent workers across all categories, Nashville emerged as the fastest-growing market for freelancers in 2022. The city saw almost 40% growth in revenue and approximately 25% growth in population.

In the past year, big tech hubs like San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, and Portland have seen the slowest growth in the freelance population due to the slowdown in the tech sector and high costs of living in these cities. Still, independent tech workers living in these cities were among the highest earners.

This year’s Freelance Economic Impact Report unveils that independent workers who offer professional services like accounting and consulting were thriving the most in 2022. These professionals account for 50% of skilled freelancers and 47% of their earnings for 2022, the largest share across the top 30 markets. They report an increase in demand for their expertise and feel more confident about their job security.

With AI making waves across industries, freelancers are surprisingly positive about the impact it will have on their jobs, with 75% of independent workers feeling optimistic. That said, a third of technical workers fear that AI will replace their skillset, as opposed to one-fourth who believe AI will only complement their work.

Freelance platforms are continuously introducing new solutions to support the high demand for independent talent. Just recently, Fiverr introduced a platform for smoother freelance management on bigger projects.

Upwork even created a solution for full-time hiring to help companies hire talent from anywhere in the world without having to navigate complex bureaucracy and international employment laws.