MBO Partners released the 2022 edition of their ongoing State of Independence study series. Emergent Research (that's us) works with MBO Partners on this study.
The key finding is that the number of independent workers (freelancers, gig workers, independent contractors, etc.) reached 64.6 million, up 26% over 2021's 51.1 million.
As the study chart below shows (click to enlarge), the number of U.S. independent workers is up 57% since before the pandemic. This is despite a pandemic-induced decline in 2021.
What is also quite noticeable in this chart is that the total number of independent workers grew relatively slowly between 2015 and 2019.
This raises the question, has the pandemic - and the related shift to remote work - resulted in a growth inflection point for independent work?
We believe the answer to that question is yes. And there are both supply and demand reasons why.
On the supply side, workers are seeking to take greater control of their destiny, exercise a sense of agency, and build strong connections between their work and personal purpose.
On all these fronts, working as an independent - either part or full-time - can be a path to empowerment and self-realization. And more Americans are choosing this path.
On the demand side, firms of all sizes are increasing their use of independent talent to access specialized skills and improve business flexibility and agility.
But while we think we've reached an inflection point, independent worker growth will likely not continue at the torrid pace of the past two years.
We're forecasting that the growth rate will slow to 5%-7% next year. This is still quite fast by labor market standards.
We'll be covering other key findings in the coming weeks.
See the study microsite for more information. And click here to download the 2022 MBO Partners State of Independence report.
