US nonfarm employment contracted by 6.2% in 2020; however, Staffing Industry Analysts estimates the US talent platform workforce expanded by 5% that same year.
“Key to the expansion was not just the pandemic leading to largescale worker displacement, but also a surge in demand for skilled platform workers,” according to the report, “The Talent Platform Workforce: 2021 Update,” by Brian Wallins, research manager at SIA, and Kevin Chen, research associate.
Talent platform is also the Staffing Word of the Week. SIA’s Lexicon of the workforce solutions ecosystem defines talent platform as:
“A model that enables specific hirers and freelance workers to enter into, complete and transact work arrangements through a website or other digital platform such as a smartphone. It is essentially (more or less) recruiter-less staffing with the entirety of the transaction including remuneration facilitated online via a two-sided marketplace of workers and hirers. Unlike staffing, the talent platform takes no responsibility for the tax or social insurance obligations of the workers.
“Talent platforms are an effective way to hire remote workers and take advantage of labor arbitrage by sourcing workers in lower cost labor markets.
“There are two sub-segments of talent platforms which have slightly different business models though categories are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and many platforms offer a blend of these models; crowdsourcing platforms and talent platform aggregators.”
The Lexicon is available free online and includes terms from across the workforce solutions ecosystem.