As AI integration accelerates, businesses are facing widening skills gaps that traditional employment models struggle to address, and so more companies are choosing to hire freelancers to fill the void, according to a new report.
The report, from freelance work platform Upwork, claims there’s a major workforce shift as well, with 28% of skilled knowledge workers now freelancing for greater “autonomy and purpose.” An additional 36% of full-time employees are considering switching to freelance, while only 10% of freelancers want to return to traditional jobs, according to the report, which is based on a recent survey of 3,000 skilled, US-based knowledge workers.