Online Talent Growing, Workers Making More

With the web becoming more ubiquitous and companies getting used to outsourcing to online freelancers, the market for online work is increasing, one recent study says.

According to online outsourcing firm Elance, the pool of online workers that the company tracks made more than $70-million for online work of various kinds in 2009, up 45 percent from the beginning of the year. The company said that the volume of hiring done through its online service also grew by more than 40 percent over 2008, and the total earnings of independent contractors working through Elance since the service began in 1998 passed the $245-million mark. The survey shows that residents of all 50 states are now earning income online, with California, New York and Texas ranking as the top three states and San Francisco, New York and Dallas among top cities for online income.