U.S. Freelancers Seek Overseas Work as Downturn Bites

As the Bureau of Labor Statics announces shocking new mass layoff figures for June just today (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/mmls.pdf) and debt ceiling talks are in full swing in the run up to the August 2nd deadline the impact of the recession continues to bite. Record numbers of American freelancers are turning to the internet to find work in more buoyant overseas markets.

New figures from PeoplePerHour.com (http://www.peopleperhour.com) – Europe’s biggest freelance marketplace – show that not only are Americans freelancers becoming more successful at winning work from their international competitors, but US companies are leading the world in leveraging the power of the web to beat the recession.

Among the key findings:

– in the last quarter, the value of work won by US freelancers on PeoplePerHour.com has nearly doubled (+ 92%). This far exceeded the global growth of 34% over the same period

– in the last quarter, the value of freelance work commissioned by US firms using PeoplePerHour.com has more than doubled (+ 129%), compared to a 44% global increase

– so far this year the number of US-based freelancers using PeoplePerHour.com has more than tripled, up 321%

– at the same time the number of US freelancers winning work has risen 661%

– freelancers using PPH to supplement their main source of income is up 177%. This category now accounts for almost a quarter of all US freelancers using the site

– the number of jobs posted by US companies has risen 274% over the last year compared to the global average of 176%

“With the official unemployment rate of just over nine percent continuing to rise, the US is a really tough employment market at the moment,” said Xenios Thrasyvoulou, PeoplePerHour.com’s founder and CEO. “But technology continues to revolutionize the search for jobs.

“People are no longer restricted by the health of the economy in their local town or city. The hunt for work has gone national as individuals bid to work remotely on projects across the country – and in many cases across the world.

“At the same time, the digital revolution is also providing a much-needed boost for businesses, enabling them to seek out and offer work to a rapidly-growing pool of remote, talented freelancers.”

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