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Contract work is no longer limited to occasional administrative support or short-term seasonal roles. Organizations now hire independent professionals for technology, design, operations, consulting, marketing, finance, and other business-critical work. At the same time, the people described as freelancers, gig workers, contingent workers, and independent contractors do not all belong to one identical category.
That distinction matters when reviewing contractor hiring statistics. The latest available data shows a large and varied workforce, strong demand for flexibility, meaningful economic activity, and growing competition for skilled independent talent. Employers can use these seven data points to plan sourcing, assessment, engagement, and retention more effectively.
Workforce studies use different definitions and time frames. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) counts independent contracting when it is a person’s sole or main job. Other studies may include people who freelance part time, complete occasional projects, sell services through online platforms, or run small independent businesses.
Earlier forecasts summarized by Wonolo and Statista anticipated continued growth in freelance work. A broader Gallup report also demonstrated how estimates change when secondary and informal work are included. Instead of treating every figure as directly comparable, employers should check the population, definition, and reference period behind each number.
The BLS reported that 11.9 million people were independent contractors—including independent consultants and freelance workers—in their sole or main job in July 2023. That represented 7.4% of total U.S. employment, up from 6.9% when the survey was previously conducted in May 2017.
Independent contracting appears across occupations, but its prevalence varies substantially. BLS data showed especially high shares in arts, design, entertainment, sports and media; personal care and service; construction and extraction; and real estate. The workforce also spans generations: 36% of independent contractors in the BLS main-job measure were age 55 or older.
What it means for employers: Build contractor sourcing around the specific skill market instead of assuming one channel, pay model, or candidate profile will work for every role.
MBO Partners’ 2025 State of Independence research estimated that approximately 73 million Americans worked independently on a full-time, part-time, or occasional basis. This broader measure is much larger than the BLS main-job figure because it captures people who combine independent work with other income and those who accept projects periodically.
The earlier State of Independence study helped establish this broader view of the independent workforce. For hiring teams, the current figure signals a deep talent pool—but not every independent worker is actively available, appropriately classified, or qualified for a given engagement.
What it means for employers: Define the project outcome, required skills, expected duration, location, and engagement model before sourcing so the apparent size of the market translates into relevant candidates.
In the July 2023 BLS survey, 80.3% of independent contractors whose contracting work was their sole or main job said they preferred that arrangement. Only 8.3% said they would prefer a traditional work arrangement, while the remainder expressed no clear preference.
This finding challenges the assumption that every contractor is waiting for a permanent role. Many independent professionals value control over projects, schedules, work methods, and client choice. A contractor hiring process should therefore communicate the business problem, deliverables, autonomy, decision rights, and payment terms clearly—not present the engagement as an incomplete version of full-time employment.
What it means for employers: Design a contractor value proposition around meaningful work, clear scope, professional respect, prompt decisions, and a reliable payment experience.
The Federal Reserve’s 2024 household survey found that 20% of adults performed some form of gig activity in the previous month. Nine percent completed short-term tasks, while 13% sold items. Among people who performed gig activities, 96% usually spent fewer than 35 hours per week on them, 70% spent fewer than five hours per week, and only 21% considered gig activities their main job.
Older analyses from PYMNTS and T. Rowe Price’s annual survey explored how gig income supported workers. Current Federal Reserve data reinforces the need to separate short-term gig activity from professional contracting and to understand each candidate’s actual availability.
What it means for employers: Confirm capacity, working-hour overlap, response expectations, and competing commitments early, especially when a project depends on predictable weekly availability.
Upwork’s 2025 Future Workforce Index reported that approximately 20 million U.S. skilled knowledge workers performed freelance or non-traditional work and generated more than $1.5 trillion in earnings during 2024. In its survey of 3,000 skilled knowledge workers, 28% worked in a freelance or non-traditional model.
This market includes specialists in areas such as writing, creative design, IT, and development. It should not be confused with every form of gig work. The scale of earnings shows that skilled contracting is a substantial professional market where experienced candidates compare opportunities and expect a credible hiring process.
What it means for employers: Treat specialist contractors as a strategic talent segment. Use role-relevant screening and skills evidence instead of relying only on resumes, job titles, or generic interviews.
The same Upwork study reported median income of $85,000 for full-time skilled freelancers, compared with $80,000 for full-time employee counterparts in its surveyed population. This is a market-specific benchmark—not a universal contractor rate—and it illustrates why a single hourly range cannot accurately describe independent talent across roles, industries, and experience levels.
Freelancing in America: 2019 documented an earlier stage of this market. Since then, demand for specialized digital and knowledge work has continued to reshape earning potential. Contractors also price for business expenses, unpaid administration, equipment, insurance, taxes, downtime, and the absence of employee benefits, so a contract rate should not be compared directly with an employee’s base hourly wage.
What it means for employers: Benchmark compensation by role, location, scarcity, project complexity, and engagement terms. A transparent scope helps qualified contractors price the work accurately.
MBO Partners’ 2025 Client of Choice report found that 92% of independent contractors had either a lot of choice or some choice about the organizations they worked with. Among contractors reporting annual revenue of $100,000 or more, the figure reached 99%. The report also found that 98% were satisfied or very satisfied with their client relationships.
The Intuit 2020 report anticipated a more flexible workforce. Today, the employer challenge is not simply accessing independent talent; it is becoming a client that strong contractors choose. Slow communication, vague deliverables, repeated interview rounds, unclear ownership, or late payment can push scarce talent toward another opportunity.
What it means for employers: Shorten the hiring cycle, set expectations early, respect contractor autonomy, provide useful feedback, and make re-engagement easy for proven talent.
The data points above describe different parts of a complex workforce, but together they support a practical contractor hiring strategy. Employers should focus on five priorities:
The most useful statistic depends on the decision. Use BLS data to understand independent contracting as a main job, broader workforce studies to estimate occasional and part-time participation, and role-specific compensation data to plan budgets. Always check the definition and reference year.
Not always. Independent contractor is a worker classification and business relationship, while gig work is a broader description that can include short-term tasks, platform work, selling goods, freelancing, and other income-generating activities. The terms should not be treated as interchangeable in hiring plans or compliance decisions.
Provide a clear project scope, realistic timeline, transparent rate or budget, efficient selection process, access to the information required for delivery, and reliable communication. Skilled contractors also value autonomy, respect, prompt payment, and the possibility of future projects.
Use a short, role-relevant assessment or work sample that reflects the actual engagement. Combine the results with a structured discussion of previous outcomes, availability, work approach, and project constraints. Keep the process proportionate to the contract’s value, duration, and risk.
The latest contractor hiring statistics confirm that independent work is a significant part of the labor market, but the workforce is not a single uniform group. Employers that define the engagement carefully, verify relevant skills, move quickly, and create a professional contractor experience are better positioned to attract high-quality talent and achieve measurable project outcomes.
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