The economy may still be trying to pick itself up, but one beneficiary of tighter budgets is outsourcing marketplace oDesk . Web developers and software engineers looking for project work can find jobs on oDesk, and employers can post jobs. Workers download PC-monitoring software which lets employers keep track of exactly how long they are on the job, even if it is in their pajamas at 3 AM.
As a result, oDesk publishes aggregate data on the “oConomy” and how many collective hours a week are being billed through its service. In July, the hours worked on oDesk surpassed 100,000 a week for the first time, and $65 million worth of work was posted on the site. In contrast, oDesk workers are earning about $6 million a week (because the value of job postings is for the entire job and not all get filled). oDesk takes a 10 percent cut, implying an annual revenue run rate of $7 million or $8 million. That is still a drop in the bucket of the overall tech economy, but it is an indication that outsourcing is growing in the down economy. Competitor Elance, which covers a broader set of industries, shows similar trends . oDesk is backed by Benchmark Capital and has raised $29 million , most recently a $15 million round last year.
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