Upwork Inc. Reports Rising Demand for Human-Centered Skills Amid AI Adoption Challenges in November Hiring Report

Upwork's report reveals rising demand for human-centered skills amidst AI adoption, with significant skill gaps affecting businesses.

Quiver AI Summary

Upwork Inc. has published its November Monthly Hiring Report, revealing a significant increase in demand for human-centered skills as companies accelerate their adoption of AI technologies. The report, based on over a million job posts, highlights that while businesses are eager to integrate AI into their operations, they face challenges related to skill gaps, with 39% of companies identifying this as a major issue. Notably, demand surged for quality assurance testing (up 19%), language tutoring and interpretation (up 48%), and various creative and communication skills. As the holiday season approaches, hiring in marketing and e-commerce sectors has also risen, with 40% of businesses planning to recruit digital marketing professionals soon. The report underscores the need for talent capable of bridging the gap between human creativity and automated processes as companies refine their digital strategies.

Potential Positives

Upwork's Monthly Hiring Report indicates a significant rise in demand for human-centered skills, with quality assurance testing growing by 19% month-over-month, highlighting the company's position as a leader in facilitating a transition to AI-integrated workflows.
There's a noted 48% increase in demand for language tutoring and interpretation, indicating that Upwork is successfully catering to the growing need for communication and creative skills in the workforce.
With 40% of businesses planning to hire independent digital marketing professionals in the next three months, Upwork is positioned to capture a substantial share of the growing contingent workforce as businesses ramp up for peak holiday season activities.
The report shows a diversification in AI-enabled skills becoming more integrated into workflows, reflecting Upwork's adaptability in providing relevant talent solutions amid changing market demands.

Potential Negatives

39% of businesses reported skill gaps as a top challenge, indicating concerns about the adequacy of talent available through Upwork.
Increased reliance on human expertise for digital and AI systems highlights potential inadequacies in Upwork's offerings, suggesting the marketplace may not fully meet market needs.

FAQ

What insights does the Upwork Monthly Hiring Report provide?

The report offers real-time insights on hiring trends and skill demands in the independent talent economy.

How are businesses addressing skill gaps as AI adoption increases?

Businesses are seeking independent talent with human-centered skills to enhance quality, communication, and creativity amidst growing AI integration.

What skills are in high demand according to the November 2025 report?

High-demand skills include quality assurance testing, language tutoring, video production, and various AI-enabled technologies.

How have hiring trends shifted as the holiday season approaches?

Hiring for digital marketing and e-commerce roles continues to grow as companies prepare for the peak holiday shopping season.

What is the significance of the Upwork Monthly Hiring Report?

This report highlights broader shifts in hiring practices and offers a comprehensive overview of talent needs in the digital workforce.

Disclaimer: This is an AI-generated summary of a press release distributed by GlobeNewswire. The model used to summarize this release may make mistakes. See the full release here.

$UPWK Insider Trading Activity

$UPWK insiders have traded $UPWK stock on the open market 37 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 37 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $UPWK stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

HAYDEN BROWN (President & CEO) has made 0 purchases and 13 sales selling 626,483 shares for an estimated $11,402,404.
ERICA GESSERT (Chief Financial Officer) has made 0 purchases and 5 sales selling 55,526 shares for an estimated $864,664.
DAVE BOTTOMS (GM, Marketplace) has made 0 purchases and 10 sales selling 49,531 shares for an estimated $808,887.
GARY STEELE sold 12,500 shares for an estimated $218,848
LEELA SRINIVASAN has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 9,834 shares for an estimated $149,748.
OLIVIER MARIE (Chief Accounting Officer) has made 0 purchases and 6 sales selling 8,390 shares for an estimated $114,214.

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard.

$UPWK Revenue

$UPWK had revenues of $201.7M in Q3 2025. This is an increase of 4.1% from the same period in the prior year.

You can track UPWK financials on Quiver Quantitative's UPWK stock page.

$UPWK Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 142 institutional investors add shares of $UPWK stock to their portfolio, and 176 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

BOSTON PARTNERS added 2,060,356 shares (+785.7%) to their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $38,260,810
BLACKROCK, INC. added 1,801,199 shares (+18.5%) to their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $33,448,265
T. ROWE PRICE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC. removed 1,759,349 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $32,671,110
CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS removed 1,598,007 shares (-40.1%) from their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $29,674,989
INVENOMIC CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LP added 1,334,541 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $24,782,426
MILLENNIUM MANAGEMENT LLC removed 1,323,489 shares (-69.8%) from their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $24,577,190
RENAISSANCE TECHNOLOGIES LLC removed 983,400 shares (-35.3%) from their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $18,261,738

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.

$UPWK Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $UPWK in the last several months. We have seen 6 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

Goldman Sachs issued a "Buy" rating on 11/19/2025
Citizens issued a "Market Outperform" rating on 11/19/2025
Needham issued a "Buy" rating on 11/19/2025
UBS issued a "Buy" rating on 11/19/2025
Canaccord Genuity issued a "Buy" rating on 11/19/2025
JMP Securities issued a "Market Outperform" rating on 09/24/2025

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $UPWK, check out Quiver Quantitative's $UPWK forecast page.

$UPWK Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $UPWK recently. We have seen 11 analysts offer price targets for $UPWK in the last 6 months, with a median target of $24.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Joshua Chan from UBS set a target price of $24.0 on 11/19/2025
Matthew Condon from Citizens set a target price of $27.0 on 11/19/2025
Bernie McTernan from Needham set a target price of $25.0 on 11/19/2025
Maria Ripps from Canaccord Genuity set a target price of $24.0 on 11/19/2025
Eric Sheridan from Goldman Sachs set a target price of $28.0 on 11/19/2025
Rohit Kulkarni from Roth Capital set a target price of $22.0 on 11/05/2025
Brad Erickson from RBC Capital set a target price of $21.0 on 11/04/2025

Full Release

Companies turn to independent professionals to power digital operations with human touch, but skill gaps loom as a top challenge for 39% of businesses heading into 2026 ¹

PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Upwork Inc. (Nasdaq: UPWK), the world’s human and AI-powered work marketplace, today released its Monthly Hiring Report for November, finding that amid the race to scale AI systems, demand is rising for human-centered skills to reinforce work quality, uplevel communication and creativity, and power digital workflows. The report draws from more than 1 million job posts in the U.S. on the Upwork Marketplace annually and a monthly business pulse survey from the Upwork Research Institute . It offers a real-time view of how businesses are hiring in the $1.3 trillion contingent digital knowledge work market. ²

“Businesses need talent who can apply creativity and human touch to everything they do,” said Anthony Kappus, chief operating officer at Upwork. “Increased demand for interpreters, quality assurance testing, and creative skills highlight that companies are adopting AI rapidly but aren't confident the resulting code is ready to ship or the marketing copy is ready to inspire customers.”

Top Hiring Insights: November 2025

Quality assurance testing rose 19% month-over-month as businesses add human capacity to increase confidence in adopting and scaling digital and AI systems. ³
As businesses adopt and scale AI, they’re discovering operational gaps that require more human expertise, not less. Every wave of automation builds demand for people who train, validate, and reinforce these systems.

Data from the Upwork Marketplace:
- QA testing grew 19%. ³
- AI & machine learning (AI data annotation & labeling, deep learning, generative AI modeling, etc.) grew 16%. ³
- AI & apps integration grew 7%. ³
85% of businesses say digital fluency and AI literacy skills are becoming more important in their organization. ¹

Demand for communication and creative skills increased, led by a 48% rise in language tutoring and interpretation. ³
Businesses are doubling down on applying the human touch to projects that depend on communication and creativity to deliver context and originality in work outputs.

Data from the Upwork Marketplace:
- Language tutoring & interpretation grew 48%. ³
- Audio & music production grew 20%. ³
- Photography grew 14%. ³
38% of businesses say they are seeking strategic and creative thinking and 36% say they are seeking communication and interpersonal skills in independent talent. ¹

Hiring across marketing and e-commerce continued to expand as businesses enter peak holiday season. ³
Building on significant growth in October, companies continue to strengthen marketing and brand strategies for the holiday season with steady demand for talent to maintain e-commerce infrastructure, drive sales, and support marketing.

Data from the Upwork Marketplace:
- E-commerce development grew 5%. ³
- Lead generation & telemarketing grew 5%. ³
- Marketing, PR & brand strategy grew 2%. ³
40% of businesses plan to hire independent digital marketing professionals in the next three months. ¹

Top 10 Most In-Demand AI-Enabled Skills in November 2025 ⁴ :

Graphic design
Python
Video editing
AI-generated video
ChatGPT
JavaScript
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Video production (new)
Machine learning

“This month’s top AI-enabled skills show that more AI work is now part of a full workflow, rather than single, discrete tasks,” said Dr. Teng Liu, economist for the Upwork Research Institute. “Python and machine learning sit right alongside skills applied to video production and design tools. Teams need flexible talent who can conceptualize, build, and run these systems and workflows end-to-end.”

The Upwork Monthly Hiring Report is released monthly to provide timely workforce insights. For more insights from the world’s human and AI-powered work marketplace, visit upwork.com/research .

About The Upwork Monthly Hiring Report
The Upwork Monthly Hiring Report is designed to provide an early signal of broader shifts in how business leaders are hiring in real-time and aims to provide a more comprehensive picture of hiring trends in the U.S. labor market with a focus on the independent talent economy. The report draws from more than 1 million job posts in the U.S. on the Upwork Marketplace annually and a monthly business pulse survey from the Upwork Research Institute. It offers a real-time view of how businesses are hiring in the $1.3 trillion contingent digital knowledge work market. ²

Methodology and Sources
¹ November Business Pulse Survey from the Upwork Research Institute.
² Estimated 2028 market size from Upwork Market Study, a commissioned third-party study that estimates the size of the flexible digital knowledge work market based on data from, among other sources, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, World Bank, and International Labour Organization (October 2025).
³ Upwork Marketplace data reflecting month-over-month changes based on new contract activity in the U.S. from November 1-24, 2025 compared to October 1-24, 2025.
⁴ Upwork Marketplace data reflecting top freelance skills hired for based on new contract activity in the U.S. from November 1-24, 2025.

About Upwork Inc.
Upwork Inc.’s (Nasdaq: UPWK) family of companies connects businesses with global, AI-enabled talent across every contingent work type including freelance, fractional, and payrolled. This portfolio includes the Upwork Marketplace, which connects businesses with on-demand access to highly skilled talent across the globe, and Lifted, which provides a purpose-built solution for enterprise organizations to source, contract, manage, and pay talent across the full spectrum of contingent work. From Fortune 100 enterprises to entrepreneurs, businesses rely on Upwork Inc. to find and hire expert talent, leverage AI-powered work solutions, and drive business transformation. With access to professionals spanning more than 10,000 skills across AI & machine learning, software development, sales & marketing, customer support, finance & accounting, and more, the Upwork family of companies enables businesses of all sizes to scale, innovate, and transform their workforces for the age of AI and beyond.

Since its founding, Upwork Inc. has facilitated more than $30 billion in total transactions and services as it fulfills its purpose to create opportunity in every era of work. Learn more about the Upwork Marketplace at upwork.com and follow on LinkedIn , Facebook , Instagram , TikTok , and X ; learn more about Lifted at go-lifted.com and follow on LinkedIn .

Contact
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