Which skills are rising or falling on Upwork?

Rising skills have a higher job count in the most recent week versus the prior week; falling skills have fewer. The lists on this page update from the latest snapshot; both require enough volume to be meaningful.

Upwork market

Upwork market demand and crowding

Q: How is Upwork demand measured?

We count job posts by publish date over a rolling 30-day window, show volume by category, and compare the last two weeks (week over week) to find rising and falling skills.

Q: How do I use demand and crowding together?

Look for categories or skills with solid demand and lower crowding — that is where a strong proposal stands out. High demand with high crowding means you need a sharper angle or a scarcer skill.

How much work is posting, where demand is moving, and how crowded the proposals are — from Upwork publish dates over the last 30 days. Read the room before you bid or budget. TruffleGig is not affiliated with Upwork.

Open the live market See trends

Live data

Market pulse

Latest 30-day snapshot

—Jobs in the window

—Median hourly (posted)

—Median applicants (crowding)

—Proven-buyer share

By category

Demand and crowding by category

Category	Jobs	WoW	Median applicants	Crowding
Live demand loads from the latest snapshot. Open Market → Today.

WoW compares the most recent week to the prior week. Median applicants is the typical proposal count per job; crowding buckets it Low / Typical / High.

Movers

Rising and falling skills

Rising

Rising skills load from the latest snapshot.

Falling

Falling skills load from the latest snapshot.

Methodology

How we measure demand and crowding

Demand is job volume by publish date over a rolling 30-day window. We show totals by category and compare the last two weeks (week over week) to surface rising and falling skills. Full calendar months appear in the app when two complete months are in the set.

Crowding is the median number of applicants on a job: Low (under 10), Typical (10–19), or High (20+). It reflects competition on postings, not how many freelancers have a skill.

Using them together

The sweet spot is solid demand with lower crowding — that is where a strong, specific proposal stands out. High demand plus high crowding means you need a sharper angle or a scarcer skill to win.

FAQ

Demand and crowding, answered

What is Upwork crowding?

Crowding is how many freelancers typically apply to a job. We use median applicants: Low (under 10), Typical (10–19), or High (20+).

How is Upwork demand measured?

We count job posts by publish date over 30 days, show volume by category, and compare the last two weeks for rising/falling skills.

Which skills are rising or falling?

Rising skills grew in the most recent week versus the prior week; falling skills shrank. See the lists above for the current movers.

How do I use demand and crowding together?

Target solid demand with lower crowding. High demand with high crowding needs a sharper angle or a scarcer skill.