The Upwork Research Institute’s annual survey of freelancers confirms that more and more professionals are looking for alternatives to the traditional 9-to-5 working model. Last year, 38% of the U.S. workforce—roughly 64 million Americans—freelanced, contributing $1.27 trillion to the U.S. economy in annual earnings. We expect this trend to continue to grow in the coming years, with an increasing number of professionals citing flexibility in their work arrangements as their top priority in seeking work.

Notably, these are people delivering skilled knowledge work: 47% of all U.S. freelancers, or around 30 million professionals, provided knowledge services such as computer programming, marketing, IT, and business consulting in 2023. The fact that freelancing remains strong among professionals suggests a significant cultural shift in the way people work now.