Gig Economy Statistics: The New Normal in the Workplace

The gig economy is taking over the world, and the United States is no exception. An increasing number of American businesses and workers are opting for the gig model, primarily because of more flexible working conditions. Younger generations are leading the way, although there’s a significant number of gig workers who were born well before the 1980s.

According to one study, the freelance economy is growing three times faster than the traditional workforce in the United States. What was once considered a fringe employment model has now become mainstream.

Key Gig Economy Statistics for 2025 - Editor's Choice

• More than 90% of US workers would consider freelancing or independent contracting work.
• The average hourly rate for a freelance worker in the North America is currently $47.71 in 2025.
• The total income generated by freelancing is almost $1.3 trillion.
• 57% of contracting workers work more than 40 hours per week.
• There are more than 70.4 million Americans working freelance in 2025.

There are more than 70.4 million Americans working freelance in 2025.

(Statista)

The latest projections see this number growing to 86.5 million by 2027, meaning that in the next two years, more than half of the total US workforce will be freelancing.

More than 90% of Americans would consider freelancing or independent contracting work.

(ManpowerGroup)

In India and Mexico, 97% of people are open to freelance, contract, temporary, or independent contractor work. In general, countries with a higher percentage of younger workers lean toward alternative working models.

Nearly 60% of independent gig workers consider their working conditions to be flexible.

(Forbes)

In contrast, only 27% of regular workers believe they have a flexible job. Around 47% of independent gig workers are satisfied with their working hours, as opposed to 34% of workers engaged in on-demand jobs and gigs, and the same percentage of workers with traditional jobs.

70% people look for jobs in the gig market mainly to attain better work-life balance .

(FlexJobs)

Other top motivations are the “desire to choose when to work” (62% of respondents), the “desire to be (their) own boss” (49%), and the “ability to choose the most suitable projects” (46%).

Millennials and baby boomers dominate the gig work market, comprising 37% and 35% of full-time independent workers respectively.

(MBO Partners) 

Only 28% of independent workers belong to Generation X (people aged 40 to 55).

Public relations managers and media buyers were the highest paid freelance professions in 2024.

(Upwork)

These professions earned workers $50-$100 per hour, followed by business consultants at $28-$98 per hour.

Gig workers earn substantially less than full-time employees.

(Prudential) 

The average annual income of full-time employees is $80,116, while for independent workers it’s only $69,000.

One of the reasons for such a large discrepancy is that gig workers work less on a weekly basis than traditional workers (25 hours a week versus 40 for full-time employees). This makes it difficult for American freelancers to manage their daily finances.

More than half of gig workers don’t have access to employer-provided benefits (54%).

(Prudential) 

In many instances, when a gig worker has access to benefits, it’s through a spouse or a professional association. Just 40% of independent workers have access to employer-sponsored medical insurance, while 25% have dental insurance, 20% have life insurance, and only 5% have access to short-term disability insurance. 

48% of millennials use gig economy platforms to find work or engage in business with clients.

(Prudential) 

On the other hand, 35% of Gen Xers and only 19% of baby boomers browse Facebook groups like Virtual Workers of America or gig economy websites such as Jooble, Upwork, Freelancer, and Upward to find work.

61% of Gen Z freelancers in 2024 adopted generative AI in their work.

(Upwork)

This is 10% higher than all Gen Z professionals currently working on the market.

The largest employer of US gig workers is actually the government/public sector (14%).

(Statista) 

The other main industries in which US freelance workers are employed are professional and business services (10%), education and health (10%), manufacturing (9%), construction (9%), financial activities (8%) ), information (8%), trade, transportation and utilities (7%), leisure and hospitality (6%), and tech (5%). Other industries make up the remainder.

93% of freelancers who have a four-year university degree consider training to be important for the work they currently do.

(Upwork)

An independent study commissioned in partnership with Upwork and a leading freelance union suggests that freelancers generally place more value on skills training. In the study, 79% of respondents said their higher education was useful for their current work.

Indeed, 70% of gig workers said they had participated in some kind of training versus only 49% of full-time non-freelance workers.

The highest-paying jobs for independent workers are in the fields of artificial intelligence and blockchain architecture.

(The Ballance Small Business)

Freelancers working in these industries earn approximately $115.06 and $87.05 per hour respectively.

The other highest-paying gig economy jobs on the work market are in the fields of robotics ($77.46 per hour), ethical hacking - which means checking systems for potential security vulnerabilities ($66.33 per hour) and cryptocurrency ($65.37 per hour).  

63% of workers take part in the gig economy because a portfolio of clients is more reliable than working with a single employer.

(Wonolo) 

This figure was obtained from a combination of surveys conducted by Intuit careers and LinkedIn.

The Austin (TX) metro area has the highest percentage of population working remotely in 2025.

(Visual Capitalist)

This is followed by Raleigh (NC) and Denver (CO) areas.

73% of Gen Z freelancers have engaged in the gig economy by choice, compared to 66% of baby boomers and only 64% of millennials.

(Fountain)

Gen Zers have a more positive attitude towards the gig economy than any previous generation.

57% of gig economy workers say they work more than 40 hours per week.

(Freelancermap)

On average, freelancers work 43 hours per week.

The total freelancing income in the US was almost $1.3 trillion in 2024.

(Upwork)

Freelancing contributes to around 5% of US GDP, and the income from freelancing contributes more to the real GDP than industries like construction or transportation.

Almost 90% of America’s freelancers wish education prepared them better for gig work.

(Upwork)

The annual study conducted by Upwork and the Freelancers Union has also shown that American gig workers value soft skills. Indeed, 78% of respondents agreed that soft skills are equally important for success as technical skills.

77% of people working in the gig economy say they are very satisfied with their job.

(Statista)

The latest numbers show us that remarkably, just 1% of gig workers felt disatisfied with their job.