---
title: The Gig Economy, by the Numbers
description: More companies are hiring freelancers. Here's what you need to know.
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published: '2016-06-07T21:06:42.000Z'
modified: '2016-06-07T21:06:42.000Z'
section: Economy and Politics
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> **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/).

![gig economy by the numbers.00_00_05_12.Still001](https://img.money.com/2016/06/gig-economy-by-the-numbers-00_00_05_12-still001.jpg)

As of 2015, [53 million Americans work as freelancers](https://fu-web-storage-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/content/filer_public/59/e7/59e70be1-5730-4db8-919f-1d9b5024f939/survey_2015.pdf). Freelance workers and independent contractors earn 17% more per hour than conventional full-time employees. They will earn 28% less over the course of their career, however, because they work fewer hours. Freelance workers also pay for their own benefits, since companies do not provide them as they do for full-time employees. Eighty percent of freelancers work less than 40 hours per week.

[Los Angeles](https://medium.com/the-wtf-economy/how-big-is-the-gig-economy-e674c7986a28#.d87h82lxa) has more contract workers than any other major U.S. city. Orlando saw the biggest increase in contract work recently among major U.S. cities.

In the near future, [companies plan to hire more freelancers](https://workplacetrends.com/the-gig-economy-study/) than full-time employees because they can [save 30% more on payroll costs](http://www.newgeography.com/files/ZenPayroll_1099-Economy_FINAL2-72.png).

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