28-04-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Upwork survey: Freelancers outpace full-time workers in skills like AI
The youngest generation of workers is embracing freelance work, signaling a major shift in how those professionals approach their careers.
Freelance workers are now outpacing full-time employees in certain aspects of the workplace.
A recent survey of 3,000 workers from freelancing platform Upwork found skilled freelancers are outpacing full-time employees in earning power, artificial-intelligence adoption and "future-ready" skills.
Twenty-eight percent of surveyed workers said they are now freelancing or working independently, generating a collective $1.5 trillion in earnings in 2024. The report found more than half (54%) of freelancers said they have advanced or expert-level proficiency, compared to 38% of full-time employees.
Additionally, 29% of freelancers said they specialize in machine learning, compared to 18% of full-time workers. Freelancers also topped full-time workers in problem-solving (49% vs. 44% of full-time workers) and adaptability (41% vs. 37% of full-time workers).
Freelancing is becoming a more intentional career path for many professionals. Skilled freelancers are also investing in their own development, with 37% holding postgraduate degrees, compared to just 20% of full-time employees.
Other key findings from the report:
Among over 400 publicly traded U.S. organizations, those in the top 25% of year-over-year revenue growth are more likely to embed freelancers (45% of those companies), managed services (50%), human-AI collaboration (41%) and agencies (39%) into their workforce strategies. Despite these results, 59% of surveyed business leaders said they are wary of multi-company work and 41% are skeptical of AI tools.
Over one-third (36%) of full-time employees said they are considering freelancing for better opportunities, while only 10% of surveyed freelancers want to return to traditional employment. Generation Z is leading this shift, with 53% of skilled Gen Z workers saying they are already freelancing — a trend that will reshape the workforce, as they will comprise 30% of U.S. workers by 2030. Meanwhile, 82% of skilled freelancers report more work opportunities than a year ago, compared to just 63% of full-time employees.
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