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With the job market expected to be tough for the first part of 2021, more people may turn to freelance work as a way to make money. And, in some fields, talent will be in particularly high demand, according to the experts at FlexJobs.
The website — which specializes in helping people find jobs that offer options such as contract work, flexible schedules and work-from-home options — analyzed its database of postings from March 1 through October 31 to identify the 15 occupations with the most new postings. Those fields are projected to offer the most job opportunities in 2021, FlexJobs says. (Note that FlexJobs charges a subscription fee for full access to its job postings, currently priced at $29.95 for three months.)
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"What we've seen in the past is that freelance opportunities tend to rise during economic downturns, so we expect that freelance jobs will be strong in 2021 as the pandemic economy continues,” says Brie Reynolds, career development manager at FlexJobs. “Because remote work is more widely accepted by employers of all types now, we may see that employers that were previously hesitant to hire remote freelancers may do so."
Here are the 15 job fields that are expected to be most in-demand for freelancers in 2021. Click on the links to see postings on the AARP Job Board for open positions in these respective lines of work.
- Computer & IT
- Accounting & Finance
- Administrative
- Project Management
- Customer Service
- Health Care
- Writing & Editing
- Education & Training
- Marketing
- HR & Recruiting
- Bookkeeping
- Therapy
- Graphic Design
- Data Entry
- Mortgage & Real Estate
"There's such a huge range of freelance work available, so for people age 50 and over, they can likely find something that fits their needs,” says Reynolds. “For some it may be consulting or working on projects related to their overall career. For others it may be a chance to work on a career pivot or transition to a new field, or to stay professionally active without committing to a full-time, ongoing role."
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Some of these occupations offer work-from-home opportunities and flexible hours