MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwired - Jan 22, 2014) - Elance, a leading marketplace for online work, today released its 2013 Global Online Employment Report revealing a record-breaking year for growth. Over 1 million freelancers and 410,000 businesses joined the Elance community contributing to an increase in freelancer billings of nearly 50% year-over-year.

"With millions of talented freelancers working online, more businesses are meeting their staffing needs online," said Fabio Rosati, CEO of Elance. "Until recently, a team of Elancers was the secret weapon for entrepreneurs and startups, but in 2013 we saw a noticeable shift in the labor market with many large companies building extended workforces online to engage talent they don't have in-house."

Report Data Indicates a New Future for Work
 Elance workplace trend predictions for 2014 include:

  • Freelancers will command double-digit wage increases -- Freelancers are enjoying higher earnings due in part to increasing demand for specialized talent. In December 2013, the average hourly rate on Elance for a U.S. based freelancer rose to $27. Increased demand for both Creative and STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) skills drove hourly rates up 10 percent last year and are predicted to fuel similar increases in 2014. 

  • Freelance technology professionals will become part of every company's team -- IT and Programming continue to be the highest-growth online staffing categories, representing nearly 40% percent of hiring last year. In 2014 more businesses will turn to online work marketplaces to find software programmers, application developers, system administrators and data scientists. In 2013, the demand for networking and security professionals increased over 400 percent, enterprise software developers 100 percent, and mobile app developers 50 percent compared to the same period last year.

  • Your next MVP may be a freelancer -- More businesses are adopting a hybrid staffing model, comprised of both full-time employees and a trusted extended workforce of freelancers. In the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, the number of companies hiring across multiple skill categories increased over 30 percent, with German companies increasing 69 percent.

  • Online hiring will be local -- Even when hiring online, 2013 data shows that many businesses prefer to hire local talent when possible. The demand for talent that is both local and online talent will continue to grow in 2014.

In addition to the annual Global Online Employment report, Elance also released its regular monthly U.S. Employment Report for December 2013. The Elance annual Global Online Employment Report and the December U.S. Employment Report are derived from hiring and payment data and measure the number of new jobs created, the number of people looking for work, and local data on hiring and wage growth on Elance.

About Elance
 Elance is where people Work Differently™. A pioneer in today's freelance revolution, Elance is a leading marketplace for online work. Today over 800,000 businesses and 3 million freelancers use Elance in 170+ countries. Innovative global enterprises, small businesses and startups tap into the Elance talent pool, building teams from software engineers, application developers and web and graphic designers to copywriters, market researchers, data scientists, social media marketers, customer service agents and other business professionals. More than 1.3 million freelance jobs are posted through Elance annually.

Headquartered in Mountain View, California with offices in Oslo, Norway, Elance is a privately held company. For more information, visit Elance.com and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.