View source for Category:Freelancer

{{Short description|Self-employed worker with no committed employer}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}

'''''Freelance''''' (sometimes spelled '''''free-lance''''' or '''''free lance'''''),<ref>{{Dictionary.com|freelance}}</ref> '''''freelancer''''', or '''''freelance worker''''', are terms commonly used for a person who is [[self-employment|self-employed]] and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance workers are sometimes represented by a company or a [[employment agency|temporary agency]] that resells freelance labor to clients; others work independently or use professional associations or websites to get work.

While the term ''[[independent contractor]]'' would be used in a {{clarify span|different [[Register (sociolinguistics)|register]] of [[English language|English]]|date=September 2024}} to designate the [[tax]] and employment classes of this type of worker, the term "freelancing" is most common in culture and creative industries, and use of this term may indicate participation therein.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Hesmondhalgh | first1 = David | last2 = Baker | first2 = Sarah | year = 2010 | title = 'A very complicated version of freedom': Conditions and experiences of creative labour in three cultural industries | journal = Poetics | volume = 38 | issue = 1| pages = 4–20 | doi=10.1016/j.poetic.2009.10.001| hdl = 10072/44740 | hdl-access = free }}</ref>

Fields, professions, and industries where freelancing is predominant include: [[music]], [[writing]], [[acting]], [[computer programming]], [[web design]], [[graphic design]], [[Translation|translating]] and [[illustrating]], film and video production, and other forms of [[piece work]] that some cultural theorists consider central to the [[cognitive-cultural economy]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title = Digital Labor|last = Scholz|first = Trebor|publisher = Routledge|year = 2012}}</ref>

==Freelance practices==

=== Types of work ===
According to the 2012 Freelance Industry Report compiled primarily about [[North America]] freelancing, nearly half of freelancers do writing work, with 18% of freelancers listing writing as a primary skill, 10% editing/copy-editing, and 10% as copywriting. 20% of freelancers listed their primary skills as design. Next on the list was [[Translation|translating]] (8%), [[web development]] (5.5%), and [[marketing]] (4%).<ref name="Freelance Industry Report 2012">{{cite web|title=Freelance Industry Report 2012|url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/ifdconference/2012report/FreelanceIndustryReport2012.pdf|access-date=17 May 2013|archive-date=10 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161010183404/https://s3.amazonaws.com/ifdconference/2012report/FreelanceIndustryReport2012.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Gregg|first=Tim|title=The State of the Freelance Economy|url=http://www.deskmag.com/en/the-state-of-the-freelance-economy-freelancers-survey-study-report-2012|access-date=17 May 2013|newspaper=DeskMag|date=14 February 2013|archive-date=13 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513032747/http://www.deskmag.com/en/the-state-of-the-freelance-economy-freelancers-survey-study-report-2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2018, freelancing was projected to grow to $20–$30 billion in the next 5–7 years in [[India]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/with-freelancing-on-the-rise-indias-gig-economy-is-going-strong-report/article10022680.ece|title=With freelancing on the rise, India's gig economy is going strong: report|date=9 January 2018|website=The Hindu Business Line|access-date=31 August 2018|archive-date=13 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513201717/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/with-freelancing-on-the-rise-indias-gig-economy-is-going-strong-report/article10022680.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> and the freelancers in the [[United States|US]] will comprise 40% (approx.) of the workforce at the projected growth rate from the same time.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.inc.com/wanda-thibodeaux/this-survey-of-21000-freelancers-from-170-countries-shows-what-having-no-boss-is-like.html|title=This Survey of 21,000 Freelancers From 170 Countries Shows What Having No Boss Is Like|date=27 October 2017|work=Inc.com|access-date=31 August 2018|archive-date=26 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826090159/https://www.inc.com/wanda-thibodeaux/this-survey-of-21000-freelancers-from-170-countries-shows-what-having-no-boss-is-like.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Needs update|date=February 2024}}

=== Compensation ===
Depending on the industry, freelance work practices vary and have changed over time. In some industries such as consulting, freelancers may require clients to sign written [[contract]]s. While in [[journalism]] or writing, freelancers may work for free or do work "on spec" to build their reputations or a relationship with a publication. Some freelancers may provide written estimates of work and request deposits from clients.

Payment for freelance work also depends on industry, skills, experience and location. Freelancers may charge by the day, hour, per piece, or on a per-project basis. Instead of a flat rate or fee, some freelancers have adopted a [[value-based pricing]] method based on the perceived value of the results to the client. By custom, payment arrangements may be upfront, percentage upfront, or upon completion. For more complex projects, a contract may set a payment schedule based on milestones or outcomes. One of the drawbacks of freelancing is that there is no guaranteed payment, and the work can be highly [[precarious work|precarious]]. In order to ensure payment, many freelancers use [[online payment]] platforms to protect themselves or work with local clients that can be held accountable.

=== Copyright ===
The question of ownership of a work's copyright arises when its author produces it on behalf of a client. The matter is governed by copyright law, which varies by country. The default ownership lies with the client in some countries and with the freelancing author in others. The degree to which either moral or economic ownership of a work for hire may be modified contractually varies by country.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Register of Copyrights|date=April 2019|title=Authors, Attribution, and Integrity: Examining Moral Rights in the United States|url=https://www.copyright.gov/policy/moralrights/full-report.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423164515/https://www.copyright.gov/policy/moralrights/full-report.pdf|archive-date=23 April 2019|access-date=2022-01-28|publisher=United States Copyright Office|pages=15&ndash;16}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{Globalize|date=July 2024|2=the Western world}}
A 2018 McKinsey study found that up to 162 million people in [[Europe]] and the [[United States]] engage in some form of independent work. It represents 20–30 percent of the entire working age population.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Independent work: Choice, necessity, and the gig economy {{!}} McKinsey|url=https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/employment-and-growth/independent-work-choice-necessity-and-the-gig-economy|access-date=2020-10-23|website=www.mckinsey.com|archive-date=3 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403141340/https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/employment-and-growth/independent-work-choice-necessity-and-the-gig-economy|url-status=live}}</ref>

The total number of freelancers in USA is inexact, as of 2013, the most recent governmental report on independent contractors was published in 2005 by the [[U.S. Department of Labor]] [[Bureau of Labor Statistics]]. At that time, there were approximately 10.3 million United States workers (7.4% of the workforce) employed as independent contractors of all sorts.<ref name="indie2005">{{cite web |url=http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2005/jul/wk4/art05.htm |title=Independent contractors in 2005 |date=29 July 2005 |publisher=Bureau of Labor Statistics |access-date=21 December 2012 |archive-date=7 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090507083309/http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2005/jul/wk4/art05.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2011, [[Jeffrey Eisenach]], an economist at [[George Mason University]], estimated that number of freelancers had grown by one million.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}} While in 2012, the [[Aberdeen Group, Inc.|Aberdeen Group]], a private research company, estimated that 26% (approx. 81 million) of the United States population was a part of the [[contingent workforce]], a category of casual labor that includes freelancing.<ref>{{cite web|last=Dwyer|first=C|title=Contingent Workforce Management: The Next-Generation Guidebook to Managing the Modern Contingent Workforce Umbrella.|url=http://www.aberdeen.com/Aberdeen-Library/7709/RA-contingent-workforce-management.aspx%22|publisher=Aberdeen Group.|access-date=17 May 2013|archive-date=3 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703061319/http://www.aberdeen.com/removed|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2013, the [[Freelancers Union]] estimated that 1 in 3 workers in the United States was self-employed (approximately 42 million), with more than four million (43%) of those self-employed workers as members of the [[creative class]], a stratum of work specifically associated with freelance industries, such as [[Knowledge worker|knowledge workers]], technologists, professional writers, [[Artist|artists]], entertainers, and media workers.<ref>{{cite web|last=Florida|first=Richard|title=Geography of America's Freelance Economy|url=http://m.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2013/02/geography-americas-freelance-economy/4118/|work=FEB 25, 2013|publisher=The Atlantic|access-date=17 May 2013|archive-date=22 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022184047/http://m.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2013/02/geography-americas-freelance-economy/4118/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2016, the Freelancers Union estimated that 35% of the workforce in the United States was self-employed (approximately 55 million). This workforce earned an estimated $1 trillion from freelancing in 2016—a significant share of the U.S. economy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fu-prod-storage.s3.amazonaws.com/content/None/FreelancinginAmerica2016report.pdf|title=Freelancing in America: 2016|access-date=6 September 2017|archive-date=23 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023235138/https://fu-prod-storage.s3.amazonaws.com/content/None/FreelancinginAmerica2016report.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2017, a study by MBO Partners estimated the total number of self-employed Americans aged 21 and above to be 40.9 million.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.smallbizlabs.com/2017/06/cyclical-and-structural-forces-driving-growth-of-independent-work.html|title=Cyclical and Structural Forces Behind the Growing Independent Workforce|date=13 June 2017|work=Small Business Labs|access-date=16 October 2017|archive-date=17 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017042019/http://www.smallbizlabs.com/2017/06/cyclical-and-structural-forces-driving-growth-of-independent-work.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The total number of freelancers in UK is also inexact; however, figures from the [[Office for National Statistics]] show that the proportion of [[remote work]]ers rose from 9.2% in 2001 to 10.7% in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.consultancy.uk/news/1629/uk-consulting-market-grows-7-per-cent-to-6-billion|title=UK consulting market grows 7 per cent to 6 billion|date=10 March 2015|access-date=21 December 2015|archive-date=22 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222092742/http://www.consultancy.uk/news/1629/uk-consulting-market-grows-7-per-cent-to-6-billion|url-status=live}}</ref> It has been estimated, however, that there are approximately 1.7 million freelancers in the UK.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bell|first=Anna|title=Guide To Freelancers|url=http://www.icsuk.com/blog/ics-guide-to-freelancers/|access-date=20 January 2014|date=22 January 2014|archive-date=1 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201223504/http://www.icsuk.com/blog/ics-guide-to-freelancers/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Freelancing is a gendered form of work.<ref name="Freelance Industry Report 2012" /> The 2012 Freelance Industry Report estimated that more than 71% of freelancers are women between the ages of 30 and 50. Surveys of other specific areas of freelancing have similar trends. Demographic research on [[Amazon Mechanical Turk]] revealed that the majority of its North American workers are women.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ross|first=Joel|author2=Andrew Zaldivar|author3=Lilly Irani|author3-link=Lilly Irani|author4=Bill Tomlinson|title=Who are the Turkers? Worker Demographics in Amazon Mechanical Turk|journal=CHI EA|year=2010|pages=2863–2872|url=http://www.ics.uci.edu/~jwross/pubs/SocialCode-2009-01.pdf|access-date=17 May 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130610104657/http://www.ics.uci.edu/~jwross/pubs/SocialCode-2009-01.pdf|archive-date=10 June 2013}}</ref> Catherine McKercher's research on journalism as a profession has showcased that while media organizations are still male-dominated, the reverse is true for freelance journalists and editors, whose ranks are mainly women.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Mendes|first=Kaitlynn|author2=Kumarini Silva|author3=Catherine McKercher|author4=Yan Wub|date=24 August 2009|title=Women, Labor, Media, and the Economy Kaitlynn Mendes|journal=Feminist Media Studies|volume=9|issue=3|pages=369–378|doi=10.1080/14680770903068332|s2cid=216644322 }}</ref>

==Benefits==
Freelancers have a variety of reasons for freelancing, the perceived benefits differ by gender, industry, and lifestyle. For instance, the 2012 Freelance Industry Report reported that men and women freelance for different reasons. Female survey respondents indicated that they prefer the scheduling freedom and flexibility that freelancing offers, while male survey respondents indicated they freelance to follow or pursue personal passions.<ref name="Freelance Industry Report 2012" /> Freelancing also enables people to obtain higher levels of employment in isolated communities.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Denkenberger | first1=D. | last2=Way | first2=J. | last3=Pearce | first3=J. M. | year=2015 | title=Educational Pathways to Remote Employment in Isolated Communities | journal=Journal of Human Security | volume=11 | issue=1| pages = 34–44 | doi=10.12924/johs2015.11010034 | doi-access=free }}</ref> The ability to pick and choose who the freelancer works with is another benefit. The freelancer interviews a potential client and they get to pick whether or not to work with that individual or company.

Freelancing is also taken up by workers who have been laid-off, who cannot find full-time employment,<ref name="Freelance Industry Report 2012" /> or for those industries such as [[journalism]] which are relying increasingly on contingent labor rather than full-time staff.<ref name="McKercher 2009 370-374">{{cite journal|last=McKercher|first=Catherine|title=Writing on the Margins: Precarity and the Freelance Journalist|journal=Feminist Media Studies|date=September 2009|volume=3|issue=9|pages=370–374}}</ref> Freelancers also consist of students trying to make ends meet during the semester.  In interviews, and on blogs about freelancing, freelancers list choice and flexibility as a benefit.

==Drawbacks==
Freelancing, like other forms of [[Casual employment|casual labor]], can be [[precarious work]].<ref name=":1" /> Websites, books, portals and organizations for freelancers often feature advice on getting and keeping a steady work stream.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thesimpledollar.com/financial-wellness/ultimate-freelancers-guide/|title=The Ultimate Freelancer's Guide: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Jobs, Getting Paid, and Getting Ahead|last=Dollar|first=Staff|website=thesimpledollar|access-date=25 November 2019|archive-date=11 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811221045/https://www.thesimpledollar.com/financial-wellness/ultimate-freelancers-guide/|url-status=live}}</ref> Beside the lack of job security, many freelancers also report the ongoing hassle of dealing with employers who don't pay on time and the possibility of long periods without work. Additionally, freelancers do not receive employment benefits such as a [[pension]], [[sick leave]], paid holidays, bonuses or [[health insurance]], which can be a serious hardship for freelancers residing in countries such as the US without [[universal health care]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Bornstein|first=David|title=Safety Nets for Freelancers (Opinionator)|url=http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/safety-nets-for-freelancers/|access-date=17 May 2013|newspaper=New York Times|date=6 December 2011|archive-date=1 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130401015318/http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/safety-nets-for-freelancers/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Freelancers often earn less than their employed counterparts, although sometimes the opposite is true. While most freelancers have at least ten years of experience prior to working independently,<ref name="Freelance Industry Report 2012" /> experienced freelancers do not always earn an income equal to that of full-time employment. Feedback from members suggests that web portals such as [[Freelancer.com]] tend to attract low-paying clients that, although demanding very high standards, pay ~$10 per hour or less. Low-cost suppliers frequently offer to work at rates as low as $1–$2 per hour. Because most projects require [[bidding]], professionals will not bid because they refuse to work at such rates. This has the effect of reducing the overall quality of the services provided.

According to research conducted in 2005 by the Professional Writers Association of Canada on Canadian journalists and editors, there is a wage gap between staff and freelance journalists. While the typical Canadian full-time freelancer is female, between 35 and 55, holding a college diploma and often a graduate degree, she typically earns about $29,999 Canadian dollars before taxes. Meanwhile, a staff journalist of similar age and experience level working full-time at outlets such as the ''[[Ottawa Citizen]]'' or ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'' newspapers, earned at least $63,500 Canadian dollars that year, the top scale rate negotiated by the union, [[The Newspaper Guild]]-Communications Workers of America.<ref name="McKercher 2009 370-374" /> Given the gendered stratification of journalism, with more women working as freelancers than men, this disparity in income can be interpreted as a form of [[gender pay gap]]. The [[Professional Writers Association of Canada]] report showed no significant difference between the earnings of male and female freelancers, though part-time freelancers generally earned less than full-time freelancers.<ref>{{cite web|title=2005 Canadian Professional Writers Survey|url=http://www.pwac.ca/files/PDF/PWACsurvey.pdf|publisher=Professional Writers Association of Canada|access-date=17 May 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070716093907/http://www.pwac.ca/files/PDF/PWACsurvey.pdf|archive-date=16 July 2007}}</ref>

[[Remote work]] is often cited as an attractive feature of freelancing, yet research suggests that it introduces new sets of constraints for the process of doing work, particularly for married women with families, who continue to bear the brunt of household chores and childcare despite increases in their paid work time.<ref>{{cite web |editor-last=Fang |editor-first=Fang |title=Division of Household Labor |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/page/gas/collections/classroom/household-labor |publisher=[[SAGE Publishing]] |access-date=8 February 2022 |archive-date=8 February 2022 |archive-ur