Contract Employment Opportunities Increase by 8% in May 2010

Contract Employment Opportunities Increase by 8% in May

oDesk has released online work figures for May 2010, to coincide with the Employment Situation Summary for May 2010 published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Online work on oDesk, a marketplace that connects 590,000 contractors with employers at thousands of companies worldwide, increased 8 percent over April 2010, marking a fourth straight month of increasing online employment.

Contract workers make up more than one-third of the U.S. workforce, and more than 90 percent of U.S. firms now use contract talent on a regular basis. Online work provides employment for people with a wide range of technical and non-technical skills, from programming and web development, to writing, bookkeeping and administrative support; anything that can be set-up, managed or delivered over the Internet.

Here is an overview of the oDesk Online Employment Situation Summary:

47,281 new online jobs were posted to oDesk in May, an increase of 3,670 over April

589,718 total workers were registered with oDesk in May, an increase of 37,153 or 6.7 percent over April

$8,873,388 was earned by workers on oDesk in May, an increase of $222,862 or 2 percent over April

The top contractor countries for May were the United States, India and the Philippines

The top employer countries for May were the United States, Canada and Australia

“We have a front row seat for the rise of the remote work economy. The continued interest in contract work speaks to the new order of the working world – the jobs are returning, but both businesses and workers are choosing more flexible relationships,” said oDesk CEO Gary Swart. “The future of work lies in contract workers building long-term, successful careers online - and companies and individuals must learn how to forge productive working relationships within this new dynamic.”

Interested in viewing the complete report on online contract work? Please visit: www.odesk.com/w/online_employment_may2010

About oDesk

With more than 590,000 contractors in more than 169 countries, oDesk (www.oDesk.com) is the largest and fastest-growing marketplace for online work.

For employers: Guaranteed work — every hour billed is an hour worked. Screen captures of each contractor's desktop taken at random intervals allow employers to audit the hours and work completed so they have confidence every hour billed by a remote team member is an hour worked. This capability also enables the employer to collaborate more closely and re-direct the contractor if necessary, much like you do when you manage by walking around your office.

For contractors: Guaranteed payment — every hour worked is an hour paid, without the hassle of invoicing or slow-paying clients, making oDesk the preferred marketplace for professional contractors including software engineers, web developers, graphic designers, writers, researchers, administrators, and customer service agents.

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