oDesk is a marketplace for online work teams. Each month, the service publishes a report containing information collected from its unique community of employers and job seekers.
For its year-end report, oDesk researched historical data from a proprietary database of 890,000 contractors and 220,000 employers. The service has over 1 million users and generates over $12 million in work each month.
The company used that data to report on the top markets, categories, and jobs in 2010, and what to expect in 2011.
For 2010, oDesk reports:
- In 2010, employers spent more than $115 million on online operations. Employment opportunities increased by 2 times to 620,000 compared to 2009.
- Mobile was still the best option. Since 2009, employer demand for talent with Android expertise has skyrocketed by 680%, and iPhone by 152%.
- Social media opportunities have increased, as evidenced by the demand of people who are familiar with Facebook and other social technologies.
- Some of the hottest contractor spots in the world were in the Philippines, India, and the United States.
For 2011, oDesk predicts:
- Online jobs will continue to double year over year, but local employment will not recover to pre-recession levels.
- Next year, more than 500,000 employers, including 25% of Fortune 500 companies, will leverage a cloud-based workforce for the first time.
- The number of people considering online work as their main or only source of income will double compared to 2011.
- Hiring of online workers by companies outside the United States is expected to explode in 2011. Proportionally, the growth of spending in this area in the United States will be slower next year, and he will account for 65% of the total amount spent on online operations.
How to pay for a job
Employers pay the highest hourly rates to people with experience in network technology. Software engineers and technicians earn the second highest hourly wage, and web developers earn a third of the hourly rate.
What employers are looking for
The most in-demand roles reflect business growth in all forms of application and online media development. I’m glad that blogging is becoming sought after as an expertise.
Looking forward to 2011
Job photos are news items that get a lot of attention. The potential opportunities for people working online deserve more attention.
The online work economy reflects the fact that the physical location of people and things has never been more important. People say the network is flattening, but our sense of geography is also changing.
This is another sign of how important the trends we are following in cloud computing and virtualization are.
oDesk’s job data shows how the online employment ecosystem is intertwined with trends seen in the web and mobile markets. It also shows the connections between different professions. The demand for web developers is coupled with the need for people with social media expertise. The need for network technology expertise is one of the factors driving demand for more software.
If you’re looking for a job, I have some advice for you. Rest your tired feet and take a seat. There are also jobs that you can find online.
