‘FREELANCE JOBS GREW 22% BETWEEN JAN 2019 AND 2021’

Online job site Indeed has said that it analysed the freelance job market in India between January 2019 and 2021 showing 22 per cent jump in hiring during January as compared to the same month in 2019.

As the pandemic disrupted the job market compelling organisations to restructure their workforce, data on Indeed concurrently shows that postings for freelance jobs spiked between May and June 2020, a near two-fold increase from the same period in 2019. With implementation of work-from-home structures, job search activity after

March 2020 was consistently higher than pre-pandemic levels, peaking in April 2020. However, data shows that at any point in time, freelance job postings have outstripped freelance job searches. Indeed also studied the nature of freelance jobs against rapid digitisation and skilling of India’s workforce. Data shows a concentration of freelance jobs in the creative, tech, sales and recruitment fields with these sectors contributing 55 per cent of the freelance jobs posted on Indeed.

As of January 2021, freelance writer was the most indemand job in this segment followed by freelance designer, recruiter, developer and digital marketer. Business development executive and PHP developer also emerged in the top 10 freelance job titles in India. Indeed looked at understanding if freelance jobs were more sought after by some age groups over others. Data highlights that searches for freelance jobs were highest in the 20 to 29 age group with this cohort contributed to 73 per cent of freelance job searches on Indeed in January this year. Sashi Kumar, Managing Director of Indeed India, said pushing the freelance community to the fore, the pandemic year witnessed increased hiring and search momentum for freelance jobs on Indeed.