Boston professional services freelancers see post-pandemic growth
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Boston's freelancers in accounting, legal and other professional services have seen double-digit revenue growth in recent years, despite the upheaval of the pandemic.
The big picture: Boston is among a handful of "upscale brain markets" that have attracted highly educated workers freelancing in professional services and, to some extent, tech jobs, according to a report by the freelance platform Fiverr and the market research firm Illuminas.
- They're earning higher incomes, but also live in cities with higher costs of living.
State of play: Boston is the 10th-largest metro area for independent professionals among the top 30 freelance markets, with an estimated 132,348 freelancers in 2023, per the report.
- Together, they earned an estimated $6.9 billion in revenue last year.
Worth noting: Fiverr and Illuminas in producing the report used data from several government sources, researchers' estimates and a survey of 801 freelancers between Jan. 26 and Feb. 7.
By the numbers: Boston boasts a freelance workforce of 67,786 in professional services and 41,302 in technical services (and roughly half that many in creative work).
Like Boston, other "upscale brain markets" — such as Bridgeport, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., — tend to have slower-growing freelance and consultant workforces with higher shares of professional and technical services.
- These markets have a combined freelance workforce of 495,000 and earned nearly $28.1 billion last year, per the report.
Zoom out: U.S. freelancers tend to be optimistic, with 55% expecting to earn more this year than they did in 2023.
- 29% of freelancers also have a traditional job, but 71% said they solely freelance (up from 61% in 2021).
- Three-quarters of freelancers who have a full-time job said they're highly satisfied with their side hustle. Just 47% said they feel the same way about their day jobs.