In the first half of 2025, the number of gig workers continued to decline due to a combination of global economic uncertainty, market saturation, strengthening local employment opportunities, and the increasing migration of young people from the region
The number of active gig workers in Southeast Europe continued to decline in the first half of 2025. According to the latest data from Gigmetr, presented in May at the PPRC, the number of platform workers fell by a further 0.7%. Although modest, this marks the fourth consecutive decline — signalling that the wave of growth has come to a halt.
Most notably, workers from software development and creative services left the digital labour market: as many as 90% of those who exited came from these two professions.
“The changes we observe cannot be interpreted in isolation,” says Vladan Ivanović, lead researcher at Gigmetr and full professor at the Faculty of Economics in Kragujevac.
“This is the result of a combined effect of global economic uncertainty, slower growth, and local factors such as the strengthening of the domestic labour market, which today offers better opportunities for employing skilled workers compared to the previous period.”
Upwork remains the most dominant platform with 55.6% of the total market, but it is experiencing a decline in its share. Freelancer and Guru are growing — Freelancer notably with an increase of 4.8%.
“However, it is important to consider that platforms do not disclose all parameters for displaying active users, which somewhat complicates more precise estimates. Nevertheless, with the consistent methodology we apply, it is possible to estimate the main trends,” says Zoran Kalinić, full professor at the Faculty of Economics in Kragujevac and member of the Gigmetr team.
Romania is the only country in the region to record growth in the number of workers on all three platforms: from 0.5% on Guru to 4.8% on Freelancer. The largest declines were observed in Albania and North Macedonia, both in absolute and relative terms.
Looking at Upwork alone, the most dominant platform in the region, the share of women in gig work rose to 37.3%, partly because the decline was more intense among men (3.5%) than women (2.3%).
“The significant growth in the number of freelancers in recent years could not last forever and the market has likely reached its limits,” says Branka Anđelković, co-founder and programme director of the PPRC.
“This is a result of both the creation of better opportunities in domestic and foreign labour markets, and flows working in the opposite direction, especially pronounced in countries where a larger number of young people leave their home countries, as is the case with the Western Balkans.”
Data show that gig work is less attractive in countries offering more opportunities in the traditional labour market, and vice versa. For example, North Macedonia has as many as 7.3 times more gig workers per capita than Hungary, which has the lowest number of workers per 100,000 people in the region.
“We see clear differences in patterns of response to the same external situation,” says Tanja Jakobi, executive director of the PPRC. “In some countries, gig work remains a temporary solution, while in others, despite stagnation, it still represents an important survival strategy.”
The average requested hourly rate rose by only 2%. Croatia continues to record the highest average rate (27 USD per hour), while North Macedonia is the only country below 20 USD (19.8 USD). Growth was somewhat more pronounced among men (2.2%) than women (1.8%).
“Although women now constitute a larger share of the total population than before, the gender pay gap is widening,” notes Ljubivoje Radonjić, assistant at the State University in Novi Pazar. “This indicates that most female gig workers remain in professions that are lower paid or less in demand.”