The self-employed contractor Upwork had its best growth year as a public company last year and CEO Hayden Brown sees no sign of the momentum that started before the coronavirus pandemic slowed when the economy reopened.
Younger workers, marked by a job market rocked by two recessions in just over a decade, are increasingly seeking control and flexibility over their careers. Trends have only been intensified by the remote world of work, giving companies the opportunity to adjust and take advantage of a global talent pool of independent professionals, she told CNBC on Wednesday.
“The paradigm has totally changed,” said Brown in “Mad Money”, explaining that the recessions in 2007 and 2020 have diminished workers’ confidence and loyalty. “We saw it again years ago. It’s not a new trend, but it certainly accelerated today, with more than half of Generation Z freelancers and 59 million American freelancers.”
Generation Z, short for Generation Z, is made up of young people currently in adulthood or entering adulthood who now navigate an economy affected by the pandemic. The age group is also known as zoomers.
The millennial generation, the oldest counterpart, came of age during the Great Recession.
Upwork, a job market that went public in 2018, is helping companies take advantage of the gig economy for short and long term projects. The independent economy has disrupted several industries, giving rise to familiar names like Uber and DoorDash.
Brown said that more than 70% of freelancers on the platform have higher education and many are earning high salaries.
Unlike apps like Uber, which saw revenue plummet 21% amid the pandemic after years of multi-digit growth, small-cap Upwork saw business accelerate in 2020. Revenues from the Santa Clara, California based company , increased 24% in the last year to $ 373.63 million.
The stock rose 522% in the past 12 months and reached a 52-week high on Wednesday, before closing at $ 53.36.
“This is a long-term trend that has been happening in the workforce, and companies are waking up to the fact that if they want to work with the best talent, they need to take advantage of the independent economy,” said Brown. “They cannot be limited to full-time employees.”
In 2021, Upwork expects business to grow at least 23%. The $ 6.5 billion company provided forecast revenue of $ 460 million to $ 470 million for the entire year.