Independent contractor Upwork had its best year of growth as a public company last year and CEO Hayden Brown sees no sign of momentum starting before the coronavirus pandemic slowed when it reopened. economy.
Younger workers, marked by a job market hit by two recessions in just over a decade, are increasingly looking for control and flexibility over their careers. He told CNBC on Wednesday that trends have only been heightened by the world of distance work, giving companies the opportunity to adjust and leverage a global set of independent professional talent.
“The paradigm has changed completely,” said Brown, who appeared in “Mad Money,” explaining that the 2007 and 2020 recessions diminished worker confidence and loyalty. “We’ve seen it again for years. This is not a new trend, but it has certainly accelerated today with more than half of the Generation Z freelancers and 59 million independent Americans.”
Generation Z, short for Generation Z, is made up of young people who are in adulthood or entering and who are now navigating an economy with pandemic problems. The age group is also known as zoomers.
Millennials, the largest counterpart, came of age during the Great Recession.
Upwork, a job market that went public in 2018, is helping companies take advantage of the concert economy for both short-term and long-term projects. The independent economy has altered several industries, giving rise to names like Uber and DoorDash.
Brown said more than 70 percent of the platform’s self-employed have college education and many earn high salaries.
Unlike apps like Uber, which saw revenue rise 21% in the midst of the pandemic after years of multi-digit growth, Upwork, a small-cap, accelerated business in 2020. Santa Clara, California-based company rose 24% last year to $ 373.63 million.
Shares have risen 522% in the past twelve months and reached a 52-week high on Wednesday before closing at $ 53.36.
“This is a long-term trend that’s happening in the workforce, and companies are waking up to the fact that if they want to work with the best talent, they have to be taking advantage of the independent economy,” Brown said. “They can’t be limited to full – time employees.”
In 2021, Upwork expects the business to grow by at least 23%. The $ 6.5 billion company provided revenue guidance from $ 460 million to $ 470 million year-round.