• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

1

Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
TechLinkedIn

LinkedIn’s new Marketplaces will help freelancers find work

By
Andrew Marquardt
Andrew Marquardt
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Andrew Marquardt
Andrew Marquardt
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 24, 2021, 3:09 PM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Our mission to make business better is fueled by readers like you. To enjoy unlimited access to our journalism, subscribe today.

The coronavirus pandemic has transformed many office workers into remote workers, and that’s likely to continue even after the pandemic ends.

LinkedIn is hoping to capitalize on the new reality by developing a service for freelancers to find work. Called Marketplaces, the new service will enable businesses to find, hire, and pay freelancers.

Tech news site The Information first reported about Marketplaces on Feb. 19.

LinkedIn, owned by Microsoft, is looking to build off a strong 2020, during which millions of Americans who were left unemployed by the pandemic used the site. LinkedIn’s $8.8 billion in revenue during the year was nearly 20% more than in 2019.

In a statement, LinkedIn spokeswoman Suzi Owens said the number of LinkedIn users who added “open for business” to their profiles has soared since the pandemic began. The phrase “open for business” suggests that those people are openly searching for work. 

Marketplaces, which is supposed to launch in September, will focus on white-collar jobs in fields like design, marketing, and software development. Employers would be able to use the service to compare the rates of individual freelancers and the kind of work they offer.

“In the future we’ll be building new ways to share more about the services you [could] offer directly through your LinkedIn profile,” Owens said. 

Microsoft is considering taking a cut of the transactions on LinkedIn Marketplaces as well as charging freelancers to post their own ads, according to The Information.

Marketplaces pits LinkedIn against publicly traded online freelance job boards Upwork and Fiverr. Together, those two sites generated nearly $550 million in revenue in 2020, a 37% increase from the year before. 

Marketplaces is expected to blend features from both competitors. It will let businesses shop for freelancers and compare rates, similar to Fiverr, while employers will be able to post their own proposals to freelancers, similar to Upwork.

After the job is done, customers who hire freelancers can then post reviews about them.

Marketplaces is expected to replace ProFinder, a longtime LinkedIn feature that lets users post jobs and hire freelancers. But the new service takes things a step further by letting users connect and facilitate deals directly on the site.

Marketplaces is the latest in a series of efforts by big tech companies to tap into the growing market for connecting freelancers with jobs. In December, Facebook announced it was forming a team to develop a service for hiring freelancers, mostly those specializing in physical work like home repair, although it’s unclear when that service will debut, according to The Information.

Even before COVID-19, freelance work has been gaining momentum. In 2017, Upwork and the Freelancers Union suggested that most U.S. workers will be freelance by 2027. But that timeline was potentially accelerated by the pandemic.

“Remote work, and the talented freelancers who work remotely, will increasingly be the norm,” Hayden Brown, Upwork’s CEO, said in an April interview with Fortune. “The trends supporting this started well before the current crisis, and may be accelerated by the changes everyone is making to adapt to new realities.”

More must-read tech coverage from Fortune:

  • Microsoft teams up with European news publishers to make Google and Facebook squirm
  • New Mac malware baffles security experts who see it as a “reasonably serious threat”
  • Watch the nail-biting video of the Mars rover landing on the Red Planet
  • Arizona emerges as manufacturing hotspot in U.S. push to insulate semiconductor supply from China
  • T-Mobile brings back truly unlimited high-speed data plan for 5G
About the Author
By Andrew Marquardt
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

mcmaster
Commentary250 Years of Innovation
Boston Dynamics CEO: America’s next 250 years will be built by robots. Here’s what’s standing in the way
By Amanda McMasterJune 30, 2026
46 minutes ago
America’s AI hunger has reached the Nashville Zoo and its endangered animals may be the ones to pay the price
EnvironmentData centers
America’s AI hunger has reached the Nashville Zoo and its endangered animals may be the ones to pay the price
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 30, 2026
1 hour ago
A close-up view of a woman wearing a striped shirt and jeans, sitting and using a smartphone with one hand in a casual setting.
NewslettersFortune Tech
U.S. Supreme Court limits use of ‘geofence’ warrants
By Andrew NuscaJune 30, 2026
2 hours ago
Brown University Professor Roberto Serrano, a man in a suit holding onto a gold trophy--the King Of Spain Economy Award"-- before Spain's King Felipe and a painted wall.
AIEducation
‘Humanity has chosen to become idiots’: This Brown professor switched to take-home exams after a mass shooting and discovered mass cheating
By Catherina GioinoJune 29, 2026
13 hours ago
bis
EconomyMarkets
The central bank of central banks just released its flagship annual report — and it sees a $1 trillion AI investment boom headed for a reckoning
By Nick LichtenbergJune 29, 2026
14 hours ago
paralegal
AIdisruption
The most reassuring argument about AI and jobs quietly explains why Gen Z can’t get one
By Nick LichtenbergJune 29, 2026
17 hours ago

Most Popular

Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place
Success
Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place
By Sydney LakeJune 29, 2026
20 hours ago
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
5 days ago
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
Success
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
By Preston ForeJune 27, 2026
3 days ago
The retired college professor fighting a $313 trespassing ticket in Wisconsin thinks he's part of a national struggle
Environment
The retired college professor fighting a $313 trespassing ticket in Wisconsin thinks he's part of a national struggle
By Catherina GioinoJune 28, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 29, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 29, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 29, 2026
22 hours ago
Cristiano Ronaldo is soccer's first-ever billionaire: He went from begging for burgers outside McDonald's to landing a $400 million contract
Success
Cristiano Ronaldo is soccer's first-ever billionaire: He went from begging for burgers outside McDonald's to landing a $400 million contract
By Preston ForeJune 28, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.