7 Interesting Facts About Freelancers

By Jennifer Parris

Freelancers are a growing breed. This group of professionals is predicted to represent half of all U.S. workers by 2020…and if you’re someone who’s thinking of going that route in your own career, you’ll want to assess the pros and cons, catch up on freelancer news and trends, check out current freelance job openings, and read the interesting facts below!

Here are seven interesting facts about freelancers:

1. They’re predominantly women.

If there were ever a segment of the workforce yelling the battle cry for flexible working options, it would be working women. That’s probably why the vast majority of respondents to the FlexJobs freelance survey (73.78%, to be precise) are female freelancers. Chalk it up for the need for work-life balance, the ability to on-ramp after a career pause, or the need to juggle projects and school pickups, and it makes sense why women to choose to go into freelancing.

2. They freelance to supplement their income.

While there are freelancers who earn their primary pocket money by freelancing full-time (42.29%), the majority choose freelancing to supplement their income (57.71%). This might mean that they have other full- or part-time jobs that pay a portion of their bills, or they might freelance to provide an extra income source for their families.

3. Freelancers work—a lot.

If you thought that freelancers work sporadically, think again. According to the survey, most respondents freelance the equivalent of a full-time job (15.67%). Others freelance 16-20 hours, or what would be similar to part-time hours (10.71%). But the most popular answer (26.14%) for how many hours a week freelancers work is 41+ hours—which is actually more than a full-time job!

4. Freelancers are in all career levels.

No matter what point you’re at on the career ladder, you’re bound to find freelance work. At least, that’s what the FlexJobs survey found. Freelancers can be found in all career levels, from entry-level (11.51%) to owner/executive/c-level (12.07%). The majority are in the intermediate category (32.13%), while 11.59% are in senior-level management, and 18.78% hold management-level freelance jobs.

5. They freelance because they want to.

Not surprisingly, people choose freelancing not because they have to, but because they want to. In fact, 44.78% said that they choose to freelance rather than have a traditional office job. The second most popular response (23.91%) of those surveyed said that they choose a combination of freelance and traditional work.

6. Freelancers are in it for the long haul.

Just because freelancers can work when they want doesn’t mean that they don’t take their work seriously. Case in point: when asked if their freelance lifestyle was something they anticipated doing for the long-term or short-term, 60.25% of respondents said that they planned to freelance for the long-term (more than five years).

7. Most freelancers are working from home.

With all of the technology at their disposal to work anywhere in the world with a good Wi-Fi signal, many freelancers still choose to work from home. The vast majority (84.54%) said that they work from their home office, while only 4.55% said that they work on-site at a client’s office. Only a few (2.75%) work from a coworking space, and as much as a white chocolate mocha sounds delicious, only 1.33% work from their local coffee shop. That’s why, for most freelancers, there’s really, truly, no place like (working from) home.