Breaking Down The 'Voice of Freelancers', EU Focused Future of Work Study 2022
Surprised that 55% of freelancers found work without platforms? Or that 7 in 10 Nordics are thinking about freelancing?
Leaders, three leading policy groups just released their Voice of Freelancers Report.
Our Quick Take
Many of these findings support existing research that the freelance economy is quickly becoming the default global economy.
What we especially love is that:
This highlights the EU, showing the global adoption of the freelance economy
The institutions that conducted are policy leaning instead of freelance marketplaces themselves, thus the data is easier to trust
*we bolded extra impactful stats.
Stats To Copy/Paste Across Your Decks
Pulse Check:
91.4% enjoy freelancing
80% freelancers state that they will be still freelancing in 12 months time
just under 20% state that they will “maybe” be still freelancing in 12 months time
2% of respondents state that they will not be doing Gig work in 12 months time.
50% of respondents to the survey stated that they work more than 30 hours every week
Freelancer Compensation:
Our study also underlines that many freelancers are earning well above the average European salary of EUR 2,570
21% are earning EUR 2-5,000 each month while 10% are earning over EUR 5,000.
Why Freelancers Freelance:
80% of freelancers state that this is a lifestyle choice, since they are seeking flexibility, choice and the opportunity to create something.
Over 85% of freelancers stated that they agreed or strongly agreed that Gig work helps them develop experience and gain new skills.
Size of Freelance Economy in the EU:
over 28 million people in the EU work through digital labour platforms.
In 2025, their number is expected to reach 43 million people.
A Kantar/Sifo study5 conducted in 2021 found that 7 out of 10 workers in the Nordics were thinking about freelancing in the future
Freelancer Demographics:
30% do consultancy jobs, 25% do technology jobs - including programmers and IT professionals
43% of freelancers do have a full time job in addition to their Gig work, 57% rely on this for the majority of their income.
Almost 30% of Gig workers are over 45 years old while a further 25% are aged 35 to 44.
Over 50% have a college degree or higher (breakdown below)
Impact of Marketplaces:
Over 55% of respondents to our survey stated that they do not use apps at all in order to find work and do this off-platform
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