Brooklyn, NY - September 19, 2005 - While New York City freelancers are highly educated, civically responsible and earn decent wages, many fall through the social safety net having neither health insurance nor retirement savings.

These and other data are contained in the recently released report "The Rise of the Freelance Class: A New Constituency of Workers Building a Social Safety Net" based on a first of its kind survey conducted in the Spring by Freelancers Union, a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the needs and concerns of America's growing independent workers - an estimated one-third of the workforce nationally.

"This online survey, with more than 2,800 responses from individuals in the New York Metro region, is the first real snapshot of this important segment of the workforce," said Sara Horowitz, executive director of Freelancers Union. "We see that freelancers are well educated, solid wage earners, and a new constituency to be reckoned with - but that they need help when it comes to maneuvering the complex world of health insurance and saving for retirement.

"Some of this City's largest industries -advertising, publishing, film and television, technology and the arts - are dependent on independent workers. Appropriate attention should be paid," added Horowitz.

Freelancers are not protected by the social safety net.

Among the most startling results of this survey are those that point to the lack of a "safety net" for freelancers. The two biggest challenges freelancers face are "unstable income" and "the lack of benefits." The social safety net, which protects many Americans in times of hardships, overlooks freelancers, providing support only to those who cannot work at all or have fallen below the poverty line. They rarely get benefits such as health insurance and retirement savings because these are most often delivered through traditional employers.

In the past year roughly 28% experienced a period without health insurance. This leaves them extremely vulnerable in times of adversity. 72% of freelancers avoid seeking medical care when they are uninsured. Approximately one-third used free or low cost clinics or emergency rooms to access care, further taxing the city's public health infrastructure.

When it comes to retirement, freelancers are doubly disadvantaged: they have erratic earnings (85% cite "unstable" income as one of the greatest disadvantages of working independently) and they do not have access to company pensions or the 401(K) system. Without a single, full-time employer, freelancers have no structure to encourage and support prudent retirement savings choices. Given these factors, freelancers find themselves unable to prepare for the future. If this trend continues, few freelancers will have the resources to prepare for their needs later in life.

28% of freelancers in New York City have no retirement savings whatsoever.
53% do not save any money each month for retirement.

"Operating entirely outside of the safety net of employer-provided benefits, freelancers demonstrate the fatal flaws in our system of social insurance. As we see the employer-sponsored benefits system eroding, independent workers are the proverbial canaries in the coal mine," Ms. Horowitz said.

Freelancers are an emerging constituency and they vote in record numbers.

Freelancers are a growing untapped constituency:
99% of respondents have voted in a national election.
87% have voted in a state election.
83% have voted in a local election.

Freelancers are highly educated and play a large role in the City's economy as workers and consumers.

The survey findings indicate that freelancers are highly educated entrepreneurial workers who profit through their creativity, independence, and drive.

85% have at least a college degree.
The median income of freelancers in New York City is $46,000 (15% higher than the city's overall median).
The highest concentrations of freelancers work in the City's key industries: advertising, publishing, film and television, technology and the arts.

Why freelancers chose independent work.

The majority of freelancers surveyed found that working independently suited their lifestyle. When asked why they chose the path of freelancing instead of more traditional employment:

Over 60% cited some form of freedom (from office politics, difficult bosses, cubicles, and commutes) as a main benefit to their lifestyle.
86% cite "flexible schedule" as one of the main advantages of freelancing.

Policy Recommendations

"This snapshot of the freelance workforce provides us with an important picture of the needs of the freelance community. It also provides us with a road map to making necessary policy and legal changes," Ms. Horowitz said.

Policy recommendations from Freelancers Union based on the Freelancers Index 2005 include:
Educate policy-makers and the public about the needs of the independent workforce.
Encourage intermediaries to provide the key elements of a social safety net to these workers.
Revise elements of the tax code that penalize freelancers.

"It is time for our elected officials, our business leaders and the general public to take notice: the City's freelancers are a political and economic force that make invaluable contributions to the national and local economies - and they are here to stay," concluded Ms. Horowitz.