Up to 162 million people in Europe and America now work for themselves
Freelancing sounds like freedom: choose your clients, set your hours, work from anywhere. For millions it is exactly that. But the same arrangement means no pension, no sick pay and no guarantee the invoice will be paid, and the numbers suggest it is far more common than most people realise.
A freelancer is self-employed and not tied to one employer for the long term. Lawyers and tax officials prefer the phrase independent contractor, while freelance is the everyday word in creative fields such as music, writing, acting, design, programming, translation and film. A 2012 industry survey, mostly of North Americans, found almost half did some kind of writing, and a fifth listed design as their main skill.
Counting them is surprisingly hard. A 2005 US government report found about 10.3 million independent contractors, 7.4 percent of the workforce. The Freelancers Union later put the self-employed at roughly one in three American workers, and in 2016 estimated 55 million people earning around $1 trillion. A 2018 McKinsey study counted as many as 162 million Americans and Europeans doing some independent work, between a fifth and nearly a third of the working-age population. Britain has an estimated 1.7 million freelancers.
Practices vary widely. Consultants may insist on written contracts, while new writers sometimes work unpaid or on speculation to build a name. Pay can be by the hour, day, piece or project, or based on the value delivered to the client. Copyright over work done for a client belongs by default to the client in some countries and to the creator in others. Online marketplaces let freelancers post profiles and bid for jobs, pitting workers in rich and poor countries against each other; in 2016 about 15 percent of independent workers found work this way, and some platforms have been accused of exploiting them.
The work is also gendered. The 2012 survey found over 71 percent of freelancers were women aged 30 to 50; women cited flexible schedules, men the pursuit of personal passions. Yet flexibility carries costs. Freelancers often earn less than staff counterparts: a 2005 Canadian study found a typical full-time freelance journalist earned about $29,999 a year. Late payments, dry spells and missing benefits make it precarious, and working from home can pile extra domestic load onto women.
Source: Freelancer
