Freelance Statistics: Official US and EU Data

Independent Contractors in the US (BLS)
Businesses Without Employees in the US (Census Bureau)

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, "In July 2023, 11.9 million people were independent contractors on their sole or main job, representing 7.4 percent of total employment." The Census Bureau counted 30.4 million US businesses with no employees in 2023. In the EU, 26.0 million people aged 20 to 64 were self-employed in 2025, according to Eurostat's labor force survey.

The counts differ because each source defines freelancing differently. BLS counts people whose main job is independent contracting. Census counts businesses without employees, including side businesses. Upwork, a freelance marketplace, counts anyone who did freelance work in the past year. Every figure below comes from the organization that collected it, with its data year, sample and geography. Each source was opened on October 29, 2026.

Independent Contractors in the US (BLS)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Contingent and Alternative Employment Arrangements release (November 8, 2024) uses "a supplement to the July 2023 Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample survey of about 60,000 households." BLS defines independent contractors as "including independent consultants and freelance workers." The figures are for the sole or main job unless stated.

Count: "In July 2023, 11.9 million people were independent contractors on their sole or main job, representing 7.4 percent of total employment." That's up from "the 6.9 percent of workers who were independent contractors in May 2017."
Self-employment: "84.6 percent of independent contractors on their sole or main jobs were self-employed." In the other direction, "nearly two-thirds of the self-employed were independent contractors in July 2023."
Full time: "70.7 percent of independent contractors worked full time."
Age: "36 percent of independent contractors were age 55 or older," compared with 22% of workers in traditional arrangements.
Occupations: the share of workers who were independent contractors was 28.1% in arts, design, entertainment, sports and media occupations, 19.7% in personal care and service occupations, and 15.1% in construction and extraction occupations.
Preference: 80.3% of independent contractors preferred their arrangement, and 8.3% would prefer a traditional one.
Earnings: among full-time workers, median weekly earnings on the main job were $949 for independent contractors and $1,132 for workers in traditional arrangements.
Health insurance: 74.2% of independent contractors had health insurance from any source, compared with 84.9% of workers in traditional arrangements.
Second jobs: "In July 2023, 1.9 million people were independent contractors on their second job, representing 22.8 percent of multiple jobholders."

Businesses Without Employees in the US (Census Bureau)

The Census Bureau's 2023 Nonemployer Statistics (May 15, 2025) cover "businesses that have no paid employees and are subject to federal income tax with receipts of $1,000 or more ($1 or more for the Construction sector)." The data "come from business income tax records the IRS provides to the Census Bureau," and "the majority of nonemployers are self-employed individuals operating unincorporated businesses (known as sole proprietorships), which may or may not be the owner's principal source of income."

Its owner characteristics release (November 20, 2025) says:

Count and receipts: "According to the new 2023 NES-D there were 30.4 million U.S. nonemployer businesses, with $1.8 trillion in receipts."
Women owners: "Women owned 12.9 million (42.3%) of them and had $423.1 billion in receipts."

Self-Employment in the EU (Eurostat)

Eurostat's labor force survey dataset Employed persons by professional status (lfsa_egaps) (updated September 10, 2026) gives these 2025 figures for the EU's 27 countries, for people aged 20 to 64:

Self-employed: 26,006.1 thousand people, out of 197,786.9 thousand employed. That's 13.1% (our calculation).
Without employees: 17,616.6 thousand of the self-employed were own-account workers, about two-thirds (our calculation).
With employees: 8,389.5 thousand were employers.

A Eurostat news item (April 21, 2026) adds: "In 2025, 2.06 million people aged 20-29 in the EU were self-employed, representing 7.9% of all self-employed people aged 20-64."

Survey Data From Upwork (US)

Upwork runs a freelance marketplace, so it has an interest in freelancing's growth. Both of its reports below state their method.

Freelance Forward 2023 was run by "independent research firm Edelman Data & Intelligence. 3,000 U.S. working adults over the age of 18 were surveyed online between October 24, 2023 and November 9, 2023. Of those, 1,142 were freelancers." It counts anyone who did freelance work in the past year.

Size: "38% of the U.S. workforce, or 64 million Americans, performed freelance work in the past year."
Earnings: "Freelancers contributed $1.27 trillion to the U.S. economy in annual earnings in 2023."
Type of work: "47% of all freelancers, or around 30 million professionals, provided knowledge services such as computer programming, marketing, IT, and business consulting in 2023."
Generative AI: "20% of freelancers use generative AI tools on a regular basis (multiple times per week), which compares to just 9% of non-freelance professionals."
Remote work: "60% of freelancers work remotely, which compares to just 32% of non-freelance professionals who work remotely."

The Future Workforce Index 2025 surveyed "3,000 skilled, US-based knowledge workers in December 2024-February 2025," with a "margin of error for these insights" of "1.8% at the 95% confidence level." It covers skilled knowledge workers only.

Share freelancing: "more than one in four (28%) works in a freelance or non-traditional work model."
Earnings: "Skilled knowledge freelance work generated over 1.5 trillion USD in earnings in 2024, earned by the roughly 20 million workers who performed this kind of work in the United States." Full-time freelancers earned "a median income of $85,000."
Moving in and out: "Over one in three (36%) skilled full-time employees are considering freelancing," while "only 10% of skilled freelancers are considering moving into a traditional, full-time model."
AI skills: "over one in two (54%) skilled freelancers report advanced or expert level skill in using AI tools for work."

Self-Employment Tax (US)

The IRS's self-employment tax page says: "The self-employment tax rate is 15.3%. The rate consists of two parts: 12.4% for social security (old-age, survivors, and disability insurance) and 2.9% for Medicare (hospital insurance)." You must pay it and file Schedule SE if your "net earnings from self-employment (excluding church employee income) were $400 or more." See what self-employment tax is for how it's calculated, and ask your tax professional about your own return.

Using These Figures

Match the definition to your question. For people whose main job is freelancing, use BLS (11.9 million in 2023). For business counts, use Census (30.4 million nonemployer businesses in 2023, including side businesses). Upwork's 64 million includes anyone who did any freelance work in the past year.
Check the year. The BLS survey was run in July 2023, and the one before it in May 2017. Census figures are for 2023, and Eurostat's for 2025.
Check the geography. BLS, Census and Upwork cover the US, and Eurostat covers the EU.
What this page doesn't use. MBO Partners' State of Independence figures aren't included, because the report sits behind a form and doesn't state its method. Freelance marketplaces' company results, such as gross services volume or active buyers, measure one marketplace rather than freelancing as a whole, so they aren't used either.

Where Billed Fits

Billed's invoice software page says, "Invoice reports show which invoices are paid, partially paid or past due, and you can see who owes you money and send them a payment reminder." For regular clients, "For clients you bill on a schedule, set up a recurring profile once." See how to invoice for freelance work.

Frequently Asked Questions

How big is the US freelance workforce?

It depends on the definition. The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 11.9 million people whose sole or main job was as an independent contractor in July 2023, 7.4% of total employment. Upwork's 2023 survey, which counts anyone who did freelance work in the past year, estimated 64 million.

How much do independent contractors earn?

In BLS's July 2023 data, full-time independent contractors had median weekly earnings of $949 on their main job, compared with $1,132 for full-time workers in traditional employment arrangements. Upwork's 2025 survey of skilled knowledge workers reported a median income of $85,000 for full-time skilled freelancers.

How much self-employment is there in the EU?

Eurostat's labor force survey counted 26,006.1 thousand self-employed people aged 20 to 64 in the EU in 2025, out of 197,786.9 thousand employed. Of the self-employed, 17,616.6 thousand had no employees.

What are nonemployer businesses in the US?

The Census Bureau counted 30.4 million nonemployer businesses in 2023, with $1.8 trillion in receipts. These are businesses with no paid employees and at least $1,000 in receipts ($1 in construction), and they can be side businesses.

Do freelancers prefer working independently?

In BLS's July 2023 data, 80.3% of independent contractors preferred their arrangement, and 8.3% would prefer a traditional work arrangement.

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Freelance Statistics: Official US and EU Data on Independent Work