Online Employment Report Shows Record Earnings

Elance has released its quarterly Online Employment Report, revealing strong momentum in online work during a tumultuous summer for the U.S. and global economy.

With a current run rate of 600,000 jobs posted per year, demand for talent from companies ranging from startups to enterprises have increased over 61 percent year over year. Online contractors earned a record $34.3 million, up from $30.7 million in the previous quarter. Businesses hiring online and freelance professionals sparked a 23-percent increase in a single quarter in both the population of contractors and employers working online.

The record-setting amount of work completed was fueled by increasing demand across the board, including content creators such as illustrators, designers, writers, content moderators and programmers with hot skills such as Android, WordPress and Magento. You can review the full Elance Online Employment Report here.

Notable hiring trends this past quarter included the following:

High Tide for Content Creators
The proliferation of digital businesses, in social media, search engine optimization and online marketing, continues to drive demand for high quality content that increases customer acquisition and engagement. The demand for business writers is peaking this summer with a 21-percent increase, jumping 9 spots on the charts to No. 23. Blog Writing also saw a 9-percent increase in demand as businesses look to keep customers engaged in unique ways.

Infographics are the New Black
Demand for Infographics jumped a whopping 148 percent in one quarter. This growing trend of visual representation led Illustrators to a 27-percent increase in demand, causing a 9-position climb in Q2, and Photographers saw a 30-percent growth in demand.

WordPress Leads in the Content Management Race
More people than ever are turning to robust Content Management Systems (CMS) as their platform of choice when creating a new website for business. While demand for Drupal and Joomla! Programmers both saw a 5-percent increase in demand, WordPress programmers accelerated their lead with a very strong 11-percent growth and maintained the No. 2 slot on Elance for the third consecutive quarter.

Gearing up for the Holiday Season
Even though the summer heat still lingers on, some businesses already have their sights set for the holiday season and are now expanding their online stores by hiring a multitude of ecommerce Experts. Magento, recently acquired by eBay, is one of the fastest-growing, open-source ecommerce platforms in the market. On Elance, Magento moved up 10 slots to No. 48 with a 21-percent jump in demand in Q2.

Mobile Battleground: Apple on Fire
Demand for Android skills rose by 15 percent while the demand for Blackberry skills increased slightly by 3 percent and Windows Phone declined by 37 percent. However, the big winner this quarter appears to be Apple, as demand for iOS and Xcode skills showed impressive increases of 20 percent and 35 percent, respectively. It's possible that the recent announcements at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) contributed to the increase in demand.

Average Commute: 1,167 Miles
Unconstrained by geography, the average telecommute for U.S. Elancers is 1,167 miles. California has the highest number of businesses hiring online, with Texas and New York following close behind. However, New York continues to be the U.S. capital for online work, claiming the No. 1 spot in IT and marketing and No. 2 in creative.