PALO ALTO, Calif. — As the holiday season approaches, businesses are increasingly hiring independent professionals to manage the anticipated surge in customer demand, according to a new report released today by Upwork.
The company’s “Monthly Hiring Report” for October 2025 found that demand for customer-facing freelance skills grew 30% as companies staff up for the busy period. The report, which draws from over 1 million U.S. job posts on the platform, provides a real-time view of how businesses are using flexible talent.
“The data shows how businesses are hiring independent professionals to connect with and serve customers through the busy holiday season, drive creative and technical work, and fill key roles faster,” said Anthony Kappus, chief operating officer at Upwork.
Beyond the seasonal rush, the report reveals a second major trend: companies are hiring human experts to manage and ensure the quality of their growing AI operations.
Holiday Hiring Surges
In preparation for holiday shoppers, companies are staffing up on flexible talent to handle customer support and optimize their online stores.
Key skills with the highest growth in demand included:
- Customer service & tech support (up 30%)
- Community management & tagging (up 29%)
- E-commerce development (up 9%)
A monthly business pulse survey from the Upwork Research Institute found that flexibility (25%) and speed to hire (23%) are the top reasons businesses are engaging independent talent.
AI Moves “From the Lab to the Balance Sheet”
As artificial intelligence becomes embedded in daily workflows, the report shows companies are prioritizing human expertise to ensure accuracy and reliability.
Demand for data mining & management grew by 26%, while AI & machine learning skills—such as AI data annotation and generative AI modeling—rose 15%. This coincides with a 7% growth in quality assurance testing.
“We’re seeing AI adoption evolve from experimentation to execution,” said Professor Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford University economist and a member of Upwork’s Economic Advisory Council. “It seems AI is moving from the lab to the balance sheet, becoming more operational than experimental.”
The survey also found that 55% of businesses expect to hire data analysts and data scientists in the next three months.
Creative and AI Skills Converge
High-value creative contracts also saw a significant increase, led by a 38% spike in game design & development and a 19% rise in branding & logo design.
According to businesses surveyed, the most needed skills in flexible talent are AI proficiency (61%), digital marketing (53%), and strategic and creative thinking (44%).
Upwork’s report highlighted the top 10 most in-demand AI-enabled skills for October, which included a mix of creative and technical roles like graphic design, Python, video editing, and ChatGPT.
“The mix of creative and AI skills shows that AI and imagination now work side by side,” said Dr. Teng Liu, economist for the Upwork Research Institute. “Teams are using AI to ideate and refine, forming scalable content systems that are fueling a new wave of creative collaboration.”