News

.NET Core, TypeScript Head List of In-Demand Freelancer Skills

• By David Ramel
• 12/05/2019

Microsoft developer technologies fared well in Upwork's list of the top 100 in-demand skills as compiled by the freelancer-focused careers company.

Upwork, which matches freelancers with organizations seeking contract work, last week published the Upwork 100, which ranks the top 100 most-wanted skills in the third quarter of 2019 and sheds light on skills that are both quickly growing and also experiencing a high level of demand, which the company says provides an indication of current trends in the independent labor market and tech industry.

In that industry, it's good to know Microsoft-centric development technologies, as .NET Core -- the open-source, cross-platform, modern rendition of the venerable Windows-only .NET Framework -- topped the list and was immediately followed by TypeScript, Microsoft's open-source take on the JavaScript programming language that provides for optional static typing.

Other Microsoft-related tech makes the list too, such as the Microsoft Windows Azure cloud platform and ASP.NET, the C#-based Web development component of .NET. The red-hot Blazor project that uses WebAssembly as a compilation target for higher-order languages such as C# in Web development instead of JavaScript, is part of ASP.NET Core.

Upwork also listed the top three trends culled from its data:

• U.S. workers are supercharging global business:
  • In addition to the many U.S. companies that are hiring U.S. freelancers, 38 percent of the jobs for the Top 100 skills are being hired for by non-U.S. companies
  • The top 10 countries hiring U.S. freelancers for the Top 100 skills are 1) United States 2) Canada 3) United Kingdom 4) Australia 5) India 6) Israel 7) Germany 8) Singapore 9) United Arab Emirates and 10) China.
  • "Digital platforms not only provide businesses with access to a global pool of proven talent but also provide independent professionals with the opportunity to export their skilled services to companies around the world — including in both developed and developing countries. Too often, discussions about global trade focus only on goods; but the U.S. exports a lot of skilled services as well, and there is high demand for U.S. skilled services professionals."
• The average hourly rate is higher than the majority of workers in the overall U.S. economy: "The average hourly rate for the Top 100 skills in Q3 is $43.72, which is:
  • Higher than the median hourly rate for freelancers doing skilled services overall ($28)
  • More per hour than 88 percent of workers in the overall U.S. economy
  • "Given the highly skilled and in-demand nature of the Top 100, the high rates earned are not surprising. Yet compared to traditional staffing agencies, businesses find online talent solutions to be more cost-effective, easier to use and faster."
• A diverse range of industries in the Fortune 500 leverage independent talent:
  • "Access to skills and talent scarcity are the biggest hiring challenges; and by 2028, it’s projected that 73 percent of all teams will have remote workers, according to a report
  • The top 10 industries hiring U.S. freelancers for the Top 100 skills are 1) Consulting 2) Internet Software & Services 3) Internet 4) Consumer Discretionary 5) Health Care 6) Consumer Staples 7) Publishing 8) Education 9) Advertising and 10) Specialized Consumer Services
  • "This data shows that a diverse range of industries are leveraging independent professionals to access the skills they need, when they need them. More than 30 percent of the Fortune 500 use Upwork today, and we expect that number to increase."