According to the 2018 MBO Partners State of Independence study, the use of online talent marketplaces by independent workers has substantially increased since 2012.
As the chart below shows (click to enlarge), in 2018 about 1 in 5 (22%) full-time independent workers reported using online talent marketplaces to find work over the past year, up from just 3% in 2012.
Relatively few (6%) report using online talent marketplaces as their primary source of work (word of mouth continues to be the primary source of work for most independent workers).
But online talent marketplaces have become important secondary and tertiary sources of work. Independent workers use them to fill in gaps in their work schedules, explore new markets and find new clients.
Online talent marketplaces are also used to learn new skills and build expertise.
Not surprisingly, Millennials are the most active users of online talent marketplaces. Having grown up as digital natives, they are more comfortable with this technology than the older cohorts.
Millennials, because they are younger, also generally have less developed networks and a greater need to turn to online talent marketplaces to find work.
Overall, independent workers plan to expand their use of online talent marketplaces next year.
24% report planning on using them over the next year and over a third of those using them (35%) plan to expand their usage. Only 8% of users say they plan on using them less, with the rest (53%) saying they will use them roughly the same amount.
Emergent Research (that's us) contributed to the 2018 MBO Partners State of Independence study.
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