As more professionals embrace freelancing, LinkedIn‘s Services Marketplace is witnessing a surge in growth. Since its launch in 2021, the platform has become a hub for millions of freelancers, especially in the wake of tech layoffs and changing work preferences.
📊 Key Milestones
Here’s what you need to know:
- 10 million freelancers have signed up on the Services Marketplace—up 48% over the last year.
- Service requests (though not actual sales) are rising fast, with eight requests per minute, reflecting a 65% increase year-over-year.
Despite these impressive numbers, the Services Marketplace represents only 1% of LinkedIn’s total user base of 1 billion, signaling plenty of room for growth.
💼 The Rise of Freelancing in the Post-Pandemic World 🌍
After the COVID-19 pandemic, a new wave of freelancers and gig workers emerged as many professionals opted for flexible work arrangements. LinkedIn quickly jumped on the opportunity, creating a freelance platform that allows users to offer their services, while also giving buyers access to skilled professionals on-demand.
Freelancing has seen rising interest across various platforms, including:
- Fiverr: Focusing on creative and technical gigs.
- Upwork: A marketplace for professional services like writing, coding, and more.
However, these platforms are now recalibrating their business models to adapt to fluctuating demand and competition from AI services.
🧩 LinkedIn’s Competitive Edge
While LinkedIn faces competition from Fiverr and Upwork, its approach is different. The Services Marketplace integrates seamlessly with LinkedIn’s existing ecosystem, allowing freelancers to:
- Showcase their skills with a Service Page.
- Boost exposure through Premium Business subscriptions.
💡 Fun Fact: LinkedIn’s Premium Business subscriptions have increased by 51% this year, contributing $1.7 billion in revenue! Despite this, the Services Marketplace is still a small piece of LinkedIn’s overall business, which generated $16 billion in revenue last year.
📉 Challenges in the Freelance Economy
While LinkedIn’s numbers are encouraging, the freelance marketplace as a whole is facing challenges:
- Declining demand for freelance services.
- Platforms like Fiverr and Upwork increasing their take rates to maintain revenue.
- Professionals opting for steady employment or moving away from gig work.
However, as AI services become more prevalent, these trends could shift, with new opportunities emerging for knowledge workers in the freelance space.
