Are new job trends affecting Boston jobs?

Posted on March 24, 2017

A number of new job trends cited in a report may affect Boston jobs.

A survey of job seekers around the world who found new work in 2015 reveals that 64% were interested in working abroad, while 7% had already moved to a different country to work.

Some 76% expressed an interest in working on a freelance basis, including 23% who were already doing so, according to findings from a report jointly produced by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

As the economy has globalized over the past 20 years, the movement of labor forces beyond their home nations’ borders has accelerated. The advance of broadband and new digital technologies has made it much easier for an individual to hold freelance and additional jobs than it was even ten years ago.

When survey respondents already working as freelancers were asked about their current primary style of working, only 32% answered that freelance, self-employment, or company proprietor was their main employment.

To the contrary, 68% said their main style of working was as an employee of a company, revealing that the majority had an additional job that earned them a regular salary.

The report also finds that the internet is taking on greater importance in the search for jobs. In fact, job seekers who do not use the internet at all are now the minority. Although results vary across countries and age groups, 44% of job seekers now believe the internet—including both internet job sites and social networking sites (SNS)—to be the most effective and important means of finding new work.