Upwork releases first-ever quarterly skills index revealing the fastest-growing freelance skills in the U.S.

Note: The newest Upwork Skills Index is now available here.

‍MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - July 7, 2016 - Upwork, the world’s largest freelancing website, today released a new index of the hottest skills in the U.S. freelance job market. The Upwork Skills Index highlights the 20 fastest-growing skills and is the first in a quarterly series that reveals the most current information about skills freelancers are providing.

‍The 20 fastest-growing skills, Q2 2016:

1. User experience design
2. ASP development
3. Shopify development
4. English proofreading
5. SEO writing
6. Animation
7. Virtual assistant
8. Lead generation
9. Data mining
10. Video editing
11. WordPress development
12. AngularJS development
13. Java development
14. Accounting
15. Android development
16. iOS development
17. Zendesk
18. MongoDB
19. Data visualization
20. AutoCAD

The Upwork Skills Index calculates growth rates based on freelancer billings through Upwork in Q2 2016 versus Q2 2015. The 10 fastest-growing skills all experienced more than 125 percent year-over-year growth.

‍Key takeaways:

• Development skills account for one-third of the Top 20 fastest-growing skills. From web development (AngularJS) to eCommerce development (Shopify) to mobile development (Android, iOS), developers are in higher demand than ever.
• Future technologies are driving demand for skills such as data mining, Java and MongoDB. Virtual reality, artificial intelligence and robotics are technologies that will shape our world in five to ten years, and businesses are actively seeking experts to help prepare.
• Content marketing skills such as proofreading, SEO writing, animation and video editing all saw rapid growth as well as companies look to generate high-quality content to help drive new business.

"We're releasing this skills data to serve as a resource for professionals, educators and policymakers,” said Upwork CEO, Stephane Kasriel.

“As skills gaps persist, this information can be leveraged by smart professionals who continue to educate themselves in order to capitalize on market demands. Information about emerging skill demands may also be useful for those seeking to bolster our education system and economic competitiveness.

”To learn more about the skills that are critical to our high-tech future and read about future technologies he witnessed while at last week’s World Economic Forum meeting in China, see Kasriel’s latest post on Medium here.The next Upwork Skills Index will be released fall 2016.

‍About Upwork

‍Upwork is the world’s largest freelancing website. As an increasingly connected and independent workforce goes online, knowledge work —like software, shopping and content before it— is shifting online as well. This shift is making it easier for clients to connect and work with talent in near real-time and is freeing professionals everywhere from having to work at a set time and place.Freelancers are earning more than $1 billion annually via Upwork. Upwork is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with offices in San Francisco, California, and Oslo, Norway. For more information, visit our website at www.upwork.com, join us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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‍Contact

‍Christina Schultz

Upwork

‍press@upwork.com