SMEs and design sector attracted to freelancers

The flexibility and reduced costs of using freelancers are becoming increasingly popular around the world, according to one of the largest global surveys of available positions.

Australia-based, freelancer.com job site, analysed 300,000 jobs/positions posted in Q2 2013 to measure job activity and trends in the online economy on a quarter-by-quarter basis.

Two of the latest trends show positive news for freelancers. First, small businesses are turning more and more to freelancers for work which is integral to their businesses; and secondly, this shift is particularly noticeable in the design sector where the flexibility and costs of freelancers are proving to be preferable to the traditional use of design agencies with higher overheads.

SMEs

Traditionally, SMEs outsourced work at the peripheries of their core business function, but this is rapidly changing as they choose to use freelancers as an integral part of their business.

Today, SMEs are integrating freelancers directly into their business, relying on them for core tasks such as accounting (up 23.3 per cent from 888 jobs), report writing (up 20.5 per cent from 1,535 jobs) and the creation of powerpoint presentations (up 35.4 per cent from 1,499 jobs), all of which require in-depth knowledge of the business.

As the online freelance labour force shifts focus, tasks such as copywriting, ghostwriting and PDF conversions that may require less inside knowledge have suffered (dropping by 13 per cent, 12 per cent and 38 per cent respectively).

Design

The research shows that this shift is also demonstrated in the design industry, which flourishes as SMEs embrace freelancers over local agencies. Posts for illustration (up 20 per cent from 1,501 jobs), photoshop design (up 20 per cent from 1,241 jobs), banner design (up 14 per cent from 2,131 jobs) and logo design (up 9 per cent from 7,591 jobs) are all up in Q2 as ever-increasing fees charged by design agencies encourage SMEs to embrace online designers and force them to shop around for a better deal.

Freelancer.com said: "Disruptive online business models such as crowdsourcing deliver unprecedented levels of flexibility, quality and ROI for SMEs, and we anticipate that this trend will continue as creative design professionals embrace online freelancing, while traditional design agencies join Borders and the Dodo in the annals of history."