En-Japan Releases IT Freelance Market Research Report: Market Size Projected to Reach 1.22 Trillion JPY

'Freelance Start', a job search engine for freelance engineers operated by En-Japan, conducted a survey on the 'Current State of IT Freelancing' targeting 515 companies that utilize freelance IT talent.

The market size is projected to reach 1.22 trillion JPY by 2026, estimated to be approximately 1.6 times larger than in 2016 (764.1 billion JPY).

Regarding the adoption of generative AI in development settings, over 40% of companies responded that they 'strongly recommend or require' its use to improve operational efficiency. When combined with those that 'permit it provided security rules are followed,' over 90% of companies are positive about utilizing generative AI.

As for challenges in utilizing freelance IT talent, the most cited issue was 'risk of contract termination/attrition (low retention)' (47.6%), followed by 'difficulty in information security management' (47.4%) and 'skill/performance mismatch' (46.6%).