Are Singaporeans putting their hands to freelancing?

Guess how many Singaporeans are freelancers?

According to Freelancer.com, the world's largest outsourcing and crowdsourcing online marketplace, its users in the country have yet to cross the 20,000-mark, with about US$1 million paid to freelancers and spent by employers. Freelancer.com’s chief executive Matt Barrie notes that compared to its Asian neighbors such as India and the Philippines, Singapore pales in comparison with its number of freelancers.

“We can surmise that the reason for these figures is that the country has never been experienced dearth in business opportunities within its own territory. The numbers do not lie: Singapore’s employment rate, pegged at 78% of the resident population from 25 to 64 years old, is attributable to the extensive support Singapore provides its small businesses,” he said.

While freelancing in the country isn’t yet as robust as in the other countries, Freelancer.com believes that in no time more and more Singaporeans will put their hand in freelancing given a positive business climate which allow small business owners to easily kick start their own business.

“I think that while freelancing as a career will remain to be viable in Singapore, the country will primarily be a nation of job creators. Singapore’s economy depends largely on exports, particularly in consumer electronics, IT, pharmaceuticals, and on a booming financial services sector. We are anticipating more small business owners to post projects related to these industries in our platform. Given that these industries are key drivers of Singapore’s growth, more locals will focus on acquiring expertise and provide freelance labor around these sectors,” said Mr. Barrie.

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