2022 Talent Lens
See how the economic ups and downs, pandemic uncertainty, and labor shortages of the past year have impacted top independent professionals and the ways in which they serve the world’s best companies.
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Talent liquidity for a reimagined workforce
The world of work is undeniably different today than it was just a few years ago. Though companies have undergone significant changes to rise to the challenges of the moment, business leaders across nearly every industry are finding that their greatest ambitions are colliding with massive shifts in the labor force.
While top companies are engaged in fierce competition to acquire the in-demand skills they need to fuel growth and capture fast-moving opportunities, the best workers frequently are finding greener pastures elsewhere.
- More than 4.5 million people voluntarily left their jobs in November 2021—the highest number since the US Department of Labor began keeping track two decades ago.
- With highly skilled talent desiring greater professional control and flexibility than any traditional role could ever afford, the number of independent workers surged dramatically in 2021—rising 34% to 51.1 million from 38.2 million in 2020.
- The growth is especially pronounced at the upper end, where the number of independent workers who reported earnings of $100,000 or more soared nearly 30% to 3.8 million—the most high-earning independents recorded since researchers began studying them and nearly twice the number found a decade ago
- These trends are expected to continue, with 56% of non-freelancing professionals saying they’re likely to freelance in the future.
As the leading provider of high-end independent talent for more than 15 years, Business Talent Group has unparalleled access and insight into this critical talent segment.
In our 2022 Talent Lens, based on a survey of more than 1,900 high-end independent talent, we reveal how the economic ups and downs, pandemic uncertainty, and labor shortages of the past year have impacted these spectacular thinkers and doers and the ways in which they serve the world’s top companies. Read the Report
“Across the board, there is more demand for talent right now than any of us has ever seen, and talent have enormous leverage because of that. They are taking the lessons of the pandemic—where they were able to work remotely and more flexibly—and looking at their professional futures differently.
Top talent—including talent that you can’t find anywhere else—are flocking to the independent market for professional control: They want to choose whom they work with and what they work on. Business Talent Group’s annual survey uniquely takes the pulse of this highly skilled group of professionals and provides a comprehensive and definitive look at trends and opportunities for talent and clients alike.”
- BTG Co-Founder and Co-CEO Jody Greenstone Miller