Category: covid-19

How big is the online labour workforce? Our data-driven approach to this tricky question

Development in digital communication technologies has made transacting work remotely easier and more economical. Online labour platforms, also known as online outsourcing, crowd-work, or online gig platforms, are at the forefront of this transition. They allow workers to serve multiple clients at varying hours remotely from their homes or co-working spaces instead of working full-time… Read More »

Pandemic-proof jobs? IT freelancers in high demand, other online workers facing cuts

How are online labour markets reacting to the COVID-19 crisis? Does demand for online work diminish, as companies are facing declining revenues and reduce non-essential spending, or could the pandemic lock-down lead to additional demand for remote work? In one of our last iLabour blog posts, we briefly talked about these two opposite effects, as… Read More »

The pandemic depresses online labour markets, but some countries are bouncing back – Insights from South Korea, Germany, and the United States

In our last iLabour blog post we looked at the response of online labour markets to the COVID-19 pandemic and realised that the downscaling effect might be dominating over the distancing effect: Demand for online work diminishes, as companies are facing declining revenues and reduce non-essential spending, including external contractors. The global demand for online… Read More »