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Business owners reported an increase in hiring in all categories of workers over the past six months, with the greatest growth in one-time project or gig workers (37%).

SCORE’s latest infographic explores the rise of the gig economy in small business hiring.

This infographic highlights the findings of part 2 of The Megaphone of Main Street Small Business Jobs Report.

47% of non-employer/solopreneur firms reported hiring other people part-time to help run the business, for an average of 3.2 workers, including the owner.

20% of businesses reported replacing employees (of any type) with contractors over the past six months.

During the last 6 months, hiring increased for:

• Full-time employees at 13%
• Part-time employees at 22%
• Part-time independent contractors at 12%
• Temporary help provided by agencies or contract firms at 3%
• One-time project or “gig” workers at 37%

What has an impact on your decision to hire a contractor/temp worker versus an employee? The top five responses are:

• 50.8% say specialized expertise
• 41% say only have temporary or seasonal needs
• 35.1% say don’t have the cash reserves to comfortably make payroll
• 30.7% say cost of employee healthcare
• 25.5% say it’s less expensive to hire a contractor/temp worker

In what business functions do you outsource to contractors? The top three answers are:

• Technology (42%)
• Accounting (41%)
• Marketing (38%)

But employees bring benefits, too. Business owners reported that their top reasons to hire an employee included: consistency of work (57%) and a full-time worker’s commitment to the company, its vision and brand (53%).