*By Christian Smith*
Freelancing is no longer just for young, tech-savvy millennials who want more personal freedom, said Stephane Kasriel, the CEO of newly-public freelancing platform Upwork.
"We are seeing definitely a shift of the more traditional professional verticals ー the consultants, the accounts, the recruiters, and the lawyers who are also moving online because they get access to more interesting opportunities than what they get in their local job market," Kasriel said Wednesday in an interview on Cheddar.
Upwork went public on the Nasdaq on Wednesday. Shares ($UPWK) soared in their market debut, closing up more than 40 percent from their IPO price of $15 per share.
Freelancers can use Upwork's portal to bid for contracts on projects posted by thousands of potential employers. Industries on the platform range from accounting to web design. The company charges users a fee based on the amount he or she has charged a client.
Upwork estimates that the remote work industry ー which is mostly freelance ー is currently worth $560 billion, and the search for that work is largely not happening through online platforms. But the industry will continue to grow quickly, thanks to changing demographics in the workforce, Kasriel said.
"Over 50 percent of the U.S. workforce will be doing some amount of freelancing by 2027," he added. A lot of that will happen as Baby Boomers, the generation least likely to freelance, retire.
Upwork is already seeing the fruits of the shifting labor market, and Kasriel said the company adds 10,000 new users daily.
The company generated $202.6 million in revenue in 2017, up from $164.4 million the year before. Over that period, Upwork said it facilitated 2 million projects between approximately 375,000 freelancers and 475,000 clients.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/upwork-shares-soar-after-nasdaq-ipo).
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
