Upwork skills list Approximately 58 million Americans have opted for temporary, contract, freelance, or gig work over full-time employment, according to McKinsey’s American Opportunity Survey. Around 36% of employed people identify as independent workers, including those who engage in independent work outside of their full-time positions.
On Wednesday, freelance marketplace platform Upwork unveiled its new report featuring the most highly sought-after freelance skills in tech, design, marketing, customer service, and accounting. Upwork says that in the past year, 60 million Americans did some type of freelance work, an all-time high.
As tens of thousands of workers across tech, finance, manufacturing, and real estate cope with the permanent reality of an unstable job market, more people are turning to independent work. Here are the most in-demand skills for 2023, according to Upwork.
TECHNOLOGY
Full Stack Development
Front-End Development
Back-End Development
Mobile App Development
Web Design
Ecommerce Website Development
UX/UI Design
CMS Development
Manual Testing
Scripting & Automation
MARKETING
SEO
Social Media Marketing
Other Digital Marketing
Lead Generation
Sales & Business Development
Telemarketing
Search Engine Marketing
Email Marketing
Marketing Strategy
Marketing Automation
CUSTOMER SERVICE & ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
Email, Phone & Chat Support
General Virtual Assistance
Data Entry
Digital Project Management
General Research Services
Tech Support
Drop shipping & Order Processing
Community Management
Market Research
Transcription
ACCOUNTING & CONSULTING
Accounting
Recruiting & Talent Sourcing
Bookkeeping
Financial Analysis & Modeling
Management Consulting
Instructional Design
HR Administration
Business Analysis & Strategy
Tax Preparation
Financial Management/CFO
DESIGN & CREATIVE
Graphic Design
Video Editing
Illustration
3D Animation
Presentation Design
Image Editing
Cartoons & Comics
Product & Industrial Design
2D Animation
Video Production
Upwork determined the list by looking at earnings data on its platform from January through October of last year.