#140: What’s Going on With the Freelance Economy? A Look at the Numbers with Robert McGuire

I remember the blank stares I got in 2006 when I told friends and relatives that I quit my day job to go freelance. Back then, very few people understood what freelancing was ... or that anyone could earn a living writing from home. Boy, has that’s changed! Over the past 10 years, there has been a ton of information published about the freelance economy. Freelancing and consulting no longer mean “I’m between jobs.” And experts and economists are finally recognizing that we’re a real (and growing) segment of the labor force—not a temporary fluke. But exactly how many people are freelancing? Are the big numbers we’re reading an accurate representation of the freelance workforce? And what do these numbers and projections mean for us? That’s the topic of this episode. My guest, Robert McGuire, is going to pull apart these numbers and predictions and give us his take on what’s really happening in the gig economy.