Relatively few temporary workers operating through staffing firms also use talent platforms or work services platforms to find work, according to data from the North America Temporary Workers Survey 2023 report by Staffing Industry Analysts.

A survey for the report found only 8.9% said they used either a business-related talent platform or business-to-consumer work services platform in 2022. This has generally been the trend since 2016, according to prior surveys. While the use of work service platforms have increased over the last several years, these increases have been offset by decline in usage of business-related talent platforms.

“It should nonetheless be noted that the small share of temps using such platforms are using them to a greater degree,” said Jon Osborne, VP strategic research at SIA and the author of the report. “This is particularly the case with respect to work services platforms, where temps using them in 2022 said they were earning an average 43% of their income that way, about double the 26% reported in 2016.”

Talent platforms enable companies to find and engage independent workers, typically through an online marketplace such as Upwork or Fiverr. The survey found 73% of temporary workers said they were unfamiliar with them, while 21% said they were familiar but not interested in using them. Only 3% of temporary workers are using talent platforms now, while 3% are considering using them within the next two years.

On the other hand, only 38% didn’t know of work services platforms, while nearly half, 49%, were familiar but not interested in using them. Work services platforms enable the delivery of specialized services performed by workers and managed by the platform; examples of work service platforms include Uber and DoorDash. The survey found just 8% of temporary workers were using work service platforms and 5% were considering using them within the next two years.

The report’s survey was conducted in late 2022 and reflects the opinions of 4,299 temporary workers in North America.

For more information, including on what percentage of temporary workers’ revenue comes from such platforms, corporate members of SIA can view the full report.