The Skilled Subset

New research from Fiverr says there are 6.9 million "skilled independent workers" in the United States earning a combined $319 billion in revenue.

Fiverr released its annual Freelancer Economic Impact Report yesterday, with findings that estimate the size, growth and earnings of the independent professional workforce in top markets from 2019 through 2024.

This research is about a specific type of independent contractor. Fiverr says it looked at independent professionals in the following industries:

• Creative services (such as artists and video producers)

• Skilled technical services (including architecture and computers)

• Skilled professional services (such as legal, accounting and marketing)

The topline finding is that in 2024, there were an estimated 6.9 million of these skilled independent workers in the United States earning a combined $319 billion in revenue. Independent professionals represent 4.1% of the U.S. labor force, and their earnings comprise 1.1% of total U.S. gross domestic product in 2024.

“Freelancing has become one of the most powerful forces reshaping the American workforce,” Fiverr’s Head of Community, Michelle Baltrusitis, stated in a press release. “People are no longer tied to a single company or city; they’re building flexible, fulfilling careers on their own terms.”

Additional Recent Research

This new Fiverr research comes on the heels of the MBO Partners 2025 State of Independence study released in September. It found that:

• 72.9 million people worked independently in 2025

• 63% say independence is fully by choice

• 86% report being happier

• 67% feel more secure

• 73% optimistic about their careers

• Gen Z now makes up 28% of the independent workforce

• 5.6 million earn more than $100,000 (nearly double since 2020)

Source: MBO Partners 2025 State of Independence study

The new Fiverr research also adds to the following data that the U.S. Census released about four months ago, with findings that:

• “The total number of U.S. nonemployer establishments increased every year from 1997 to 2023 except during the financial crisis in 2008, according to the newly released Nonemployer Statistics.”

• “Most nonemployers are self-employed individuals who operate their own business, which may be (but isn’t necessarily) their primary income source.”

• “The U.S. Census Bureau data show annual growth of nonemployer establishments (those with no paid employees) almost always outpaced that of employer businesses (those with at least one paid employee). Nonemployers also represented a larger share of all U.S. businesses each year from 1997 to 2023.”

Taken together, these three recent reports continue to build on findings that we have seen for at least a decade now about the positive growth in independent contracting.

Back in 2015, the U.S. Government Accountability office reported that: “More than 85 percent of independent contractors and the self-employed appeared content with their employment type.”

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in its most recent data release, reported much the same thing: “As in prior surveys, independent contractors overwhelmingly preferred their work arrangement (80.3 percent), whereas 8.3 percent would prefer a traditional work arrangement.”

Put another way, in deep contrast with the deeply misguided policymakers who continue their attempts to restrict independent contracting, a significant number of Americans continue to pursue the American Dream by becoming our own bosses. As the new Fiverr research sums it up: “A growing number of Americans are choosing to pursue flexibility and autonomy in their career paths, fueling a substantial uptick in the number of freelancers around the country.”