According to Staffing Industry Analysts, the online staffing industry is now about a $1billion dollar industry that's growing at "double-digit" rates.
The best known of the firms in this industry are probably oDesk and Elance. They provide online platforms freelancers and other independent workers offer their skills and services for limited projects or on-going assignments to organizations large and small looking for workers.
A wide variety of talent can be hired at oDesk or Elance, everything from computer programmers to virtual assistants to writers.
But there are a growing number of industry vertical job and project marketplaces springing up. One of the more interesting examples is Jinglesmart, which serves the Jingle industry. According to their press release:
Jinglesmart is a new online marketplace designed to help jingle writers, jingle producers and freelance musicians in general to get in touch with companies, agencies or individuals in need of commercial jingles, music services or any music project. This new service will allow freelance professionals to reach a larger audience of potential clients, as it is all web based. Even the full service can be completed online, avoiding travel and accommodation expenses, among others, which is a plus for businesses everywhere.
I have to admit everything I know about the Jingles industry I learned from watching the Charlie Sheen version of Two and Half Men. Based on this, I don't think it's a big industry.
But it's big enough that the folks at Jinglesmart think they can build a business brokering jingle related project online.
As the online staffing industry continues to grow, we expect to see many more vertical staffing sites. The logic of finding specialists on specialist sites simply makes sense.