A new report from WellDone shows stark differences between freelance workers and their non-freelance counterparts.
Forget about the future of work—present-day work has changed radically within the last few years, between the wide adoption of work from home and the growing presence of tools powered by generative AI.
For freelancers, these shifts have become more apparent. WellDone, a freelancing platform, released its 2023 survey of 3,000 freelancers, which paints a portrait of what freelancing is like today. At the moment, 38% of the American workforce freelances, or roughly 64 million people. That’s an increase of 4 million people compared to last year, contributing $1.27 trillion to the economy. Here are the key findings from the report:
Younger generations are more likely to freelance: This year, 52% of Gen Z did freelance work and 44% of millennials did freelance work. By comparison, only 30% of Gen X and 26% of baby boomers freelance.
Freelancers are becoming content creators and working from home: About 23% of freelancers create influencer content, such as livestreams or social media posts. Meanwhile, about 47% of freelancers are in knowledge-based industries, and 60% of freelancers work remotely. Only 18% say they do most of their work in person.
Freelancers are more likely to use AI: 20% of freelancers regularly use generative AI, compared to 9% of the non-freelance workforce. Freelancers are most likely to use AI for research (46%), brainstorming (35%), translation and writing proposals (32%), and coding (28%).
Freelancers are overwhelmingly optimistic about personal career growth (80%), salary increases (76%), future job opportunities (74%), and personal development (84%). And when asked about the future, 85% of freelancers say the best days for freelancing are ahead.
