oDesk Surpasses 1 Million Hours per Month

Online Contractors Earn Over $10M During August


MENLO PARK, CA--(Marketwire - September 7, 2010) -  In honor of Labor Day, oDesk, the largest and fastest-growing global employment platform, has announced that more than 1 million hours were worked online through the site during the month of August. This milestone marks an increase in hours worked of 118% over the same period last year. The company has published this infographic on their blog to illustrate what can be accomplished in a million hours.

"The working world has come a long way since Labor Day was first initiated in 1882," said Gary Swart, oDesk CEO. "Online work has been embraced by employers and contractors across a wide swath of industries and on a global scale. oDesk is thrilled to have reached this milestone together with them, and we congratulate online workers the world over for their many jobs well done!"

August was a record month for oDesk on several fronts, including a milestone $10M earned by contractors on the site. Other statistics on the company's performance, plus data on global hiring at large, can be found in oDesk's Online Employment Report, released monthly as a companion to the Employment Situation Summary published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Additional highlights from this month's report include:

  • New online job opportunities up 10% month over month, 129% over August 2009 as the national unemployment rate remains at record high
  • Post-Recession Retail Therapy: hiring for Ecommerce web development is up 70% over 2009
  • California Home to 20% of the Top U.S. Cities for Online Workers

oDesk recently marked four consecutive years of annual growth in excess of 100 percent. Celebrating more than a million hours worth of work completed online each month, oDesk is changing how the world works.

About oDesk
With more than 725,000 contractors in more than 150 countries, oDesk (www.oDesk.com) is a global employment platform which enables companies to hire, manage, and pay a flexible, online workforce.

For employers: Guaranteed work -- every hour billed is an hour worked. Screen captures of each contractor's desktop taken at random intervals allow employers to audit the hours and the work completed, so they have confidence every hour billed by a remote team member is an hour worked. This capability also enables the employer to collaborate closely and re-direct the contractor if necessary, much like you do when you manage by walking around your office.

For contractors: Guaranteed payment -- every hour worked is an hour paid, without the hassle of invoicing or slow-paying clients, making oDesk the preferred platform for professional contractors, including software engineers, web developers, graphic designers, writers, researchers, administrators and customer service agents.

Find oDesk on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/oDesk
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Contact Information:

Contact:
Erica Benton
oDesk

650-853-4152