A little belated we have today (24 June 2011) published the inaugural Freelance Market Review for 2010. Each quarter we produce the Freelance Marketplace Review, an analysis of the leading freelancing and outsourcing websites which looks at the volume of billings and other activity on the major marketplaces. The review offers a useful snapshot of the online outsourcing sector and can help bigger businesses make informed decisions on which outsourcing marketplace they should use to meet their requirements.

Our first ever Freelance Marketplace review was published in June and covers the period 1 January - 31 March 2010.

One of the key findings was that in the first 3 months of 2010 more than $50m USD was spent on the top ten freelance marketplaces. This represented nearly 10% of the spend which occurred over the previous decade!

Our second Freelance Marketplace review was published at the end of September and covers the period 1 April - 30 June.

One of the key findings was a 40% increase in spend on freelance marketplaces over the previous quarter.

Our 3rd review of freelance marketplaces was published on 22nd November 2010. Key findings include combined spend of more than $75m USD, up 11.75% over Q2.

Our final review of Freelance Marketplaces for 2010 was released 28th February 2011. Key findings includes combined spend of more than $82m USD among the top 5 marketplaces, growth of 16.9% on the previous quarter results for the same marketplaces. Freelancer experienced strongest growth with billings up by almost 20%. oDesk posted billings of $38m, and demonstrated its pay-per-hour model is letting them pull away from the pack. Elance also continues to exhibit strong growth and resilience in the face of stiff competition.