Last year, independent contractor Upwork had its best year as a public company, and CEO Hayden Brown sees no signs of momentum that began before the coronavirus pandemic slowed when the economy reopened.
Younger workers, killed by a two-recession-hit labor market in just over a decade, are increasingly seeking control and flexibility over their careers. She told CNBC on Wednesday that the trends were accentuated only by distance work, giving companies the opportunity to adapt and enter a global talent pool of freelancers.
“The paradigm has changed completely,” Brown said in “Crazy Money,” explaining that the recessions of 2007 and 2020 diminished workers’ trust and loyalty. “We’ve seen this again for years. This is not a new trend, but it has certainly accelerated today with more than half of Gen Z freelancing and 59 million American freelancing.”
Gen Z, short for Generation Z, is made up of young people who are now or entering adulthood, who are now navigating their way through a pandemic economy. The age group is also known as zoomers.
Millennials, his older counterpart, came of age during the Great Recession.
Upwork, a labor market that went public in 2018, helps businesses capitalize on the concert economy for both short-term and long-term projects. The independent economy has disrupted various industries, giving rise to household names such as Uber and DoorDash.
Brown said that more than 70% of the independent professionals on the platform have higher education and many earn high salaries.
Unlike “Uber” applications, which saw a 21% increase in pandemic revenue after years of multi-digit growth, small-capped Upwork saw business accelerate in 2020. The Santa Clara Company’s revenue California rose 24 percent to $ 373.63 million.
Shares have risen 522% in the past 12 months to 52 weeks on Wednesday before closing at $ 53.36.
“This is a long-term trend that’s happening in the workforce, and companies are waking up to the fact that if they want to work with the best talent, they have to enter the independent economy,” Brown said. “They can’t be limited to full-time employees.”
In 2021, Upwork expects business to grow by at least 23%. The $ 6.5 billion company provided revenue guidance of $ 460 million to $ 470 million for the full year.