The most in-demand tech skill for Indian freelancers is PHP (hypertext preprocessor), which is a general-purpose scripting language generally used for web development.
When it comes to freelancing, Indians prefer programming and design projects, according to data from Freelancer.com, shared exclusively with Moneycontrol.
Currently, Indians make up the highest percentage of users on the Sydney-based freelance marketplace, with over 1.73 crore registered as freelancers and clients on the platform. This number has grown significantly since 2020.
In 2020, during the pandemic, the registered user count in India grew by more than 34 lakh to reach over 1.2 crore. The next year saw over 29 lakh additions.
Overall, Indian users’ main contribution is in supporting clients with graphic design, marketing and tech-related jobs. India has one of the highest numbers of completed jobs for PHP and graphic design in the world. Last year, clients across the world posted over 5.6 lakh projects and India-based freelancers completed 73,558 of them.
Indian freelancers synonymous with tech skills
Historically, clients from all around the world have turned to Indian freelancers for tech-related skills, Freelancer.com CEO Matt Barrie told Moneycontrol. “India has a well-developed education system focused on science and technology, so it makes a lot of sense that great programmers from India are hired by businesses worldwide,” he said.
The most in-demand tech skill for Indian freelancers is PHP (hypertext preprocessor), which is a general-purpose scripting language generally used for web development. This is followed by HTML, WordPress and SEO projects.
When it comes to demand for IT skills in India since 2020, four skills have always been on top: PHP, HTML, WordPress and SEO.
The last quarter of 2022 was the first time since 2020 that SEO overtook the number of WordPress jobs. While there were only two more SEO jobs than WordPress in Q4 2022, this is significant as it shows changes in demand for different business needs.
“Businesses are investing more in Search Engine Optimisation and are aiming to improve their website ranks,” Barrie said. Places 5-9 always shuffle between JavaScript, Link Building, MySQL, Android and Mobile App Development. These skills are typically always quite close to one another in terms of job count.
Unusually at Freelancer.com, the 10th place has always been taken by Software Architecture, but for the first time since 2020, demand for Python has overtaken Software Architecture.
According to Barrie, the main reason tech-related skills are surging is due to mass global layoffs in the tech industry. “The macroeconomic environment, tech winter and nosebleed inflation have led to almost daily announcements of layoffs.”
More than 1.5 lakh employees were laid off in 2022 and this is expected to continue this year, as per Layoff.fyi data, a website tracking layoffs. Over 23,000 employees have already been laid off in the first two weeks of 2023.
“As companies continue to lay off staff, we see the ripple effects on the platform, as companies turn to on-demand freelancer support to plug skill gaps within their organisations,” said Barrie, adding, “This is the trend we observed for a majority of 2022 and we expect it to continue in 2023.”
Globally, jobs for programming and design are the most in demand across the entire platform. They range anywhere from low-paying logo design jobs to some of the highest-paying jobs on the platform, which involve large-scale graphic design or programming support. These skills are always in demand globally as many businesses lack this talent.
In particular, graphic design and website design rank as the most popular skills as these are the areas entrepreneurs tend to focus on first when they start a business, Barrie said. “They start with hiring a freelancer to design a logo, then a website, then visuals for their website or social media accounts.”
Skills in demand across the world
Across the world, ‘Report Writing’, with around 60 percent growth, has the highest rate of growth across more than 2,000 skills available on Freelancer.com.
Coming in a close second are Matlab and Mathematica skills, with 56 percent growth. These are separate programming languages used by engineers and scientists to analyse data. Research jobs and Research Writing rank as the third and fifth fastest-growing skills.
In Q4 2022, data reveals that the new trend is employers hiring for programming jobs, as skills specific to programming dominated the rankings. Web Scraping, often used for lead generation and price monitoring, came in as the fourth fastest-growing skill, increasing 32.6 percent.
C Programming and C++ Programming, which are general-purpose programming and coding languages used to develop systems and applications, increased 28.9 percent and 23.7 percent, respectively. Jobs requiring skills in Python, a high-level, general-purpose programming language, also grew 20.7 percent.
Adding to the growth of engineering-related programming, Matlab and Mathematica projects seeking skills in engineering increased in Q4 2022, with Electrical Engineering jobs growing by 25.6 percent and Mechanical Engineering jobs increasing 17.3 percent.
