Freelancers Face a New Rival: Internal Staff

[madtrader]

Freelancers and contract recruiters now have a new competitor: the employees inside the companies they serve.

Internal gigs give employees an edge—they understand the company culture, processes, and systems, which external hires cannot easily replicate. Freelancers will need hyper-specialised skills or focus on smaller firms without deep internal talent pools to stay competitive.

With minimal hiring growth expected in 2026, according to Indeed, the shift toward internal projects may signal tougher times ahead for the independent workforce, adding pressure on those relying on project-based contracts.

[nihalsari]

companies discovering their own employees have skills is not the innovation they think it is lol

[JanEmil]

External also have the risk you get some North Korean hacker on your network.