Tradies among most ‘in demand’ on Airtasker in 2021
Tradies and other skilled professionals are increasingly in demand on jobs marketplace Airtasker, and earnings through the platform are on the up.
Tradies and other skilled professionals are increasingly in demand on jobs marketplace Airtasker, and earnings through the platform are on the up.
That’s according to Airtasker’s Year in Review 2021 report, which also revealed some telling trends that highlight the moods and priorities of Aussies throughout yet another turbulent year.
There are now about 84,000 so-called ‘taskers’ available for odd jobs on Airtasker, the report says.
The most popular task category for the year was removal services, with almost 300,000 jobs posted. That was followed by general cleaning (172,000 jobs) and then ‘general handyman’ work (124,000).
Gardening and lawn mowing services were the fourth-most popular, followed by pick up and delivery.
Tradies were also in high demand, with plumbing, mechanic and painting services also in the top 10 tasks for the year. Carpentry, electric wiring services and household equipment repair or installations were also in the top 15.
Speaking to SmartCompany, an Airtasker spokesperson noted there has been a trend towards job postings that require specific skills, expertise and qualifications. Increasingly, these are not odd jobs that anyone can do, they noted.
Earnings for ‘taskers’ were also up all over the country, but particularly in Tasmania and Queensland, where net tasker earnings were up 18% and 30%, respectively.
In the ACT, the increase was even larger, with net tasker earnings up a massive 47%. That’s despite the number of tasks in the capital increasing by 34%, suggesting sole traders on the platform are also earning more per job.
According to Airtasker, of the more in-demand taskers on the platform, landscape gardeners are paid the most, earning an average of $773 per job.
Carpenters come in second, earning an average of $675 per job, followed by painters ($603 per job), full-house removalists ($362 per job) and handymen ($286 per job).
Pandemic-related trends
The data also reveals a thread of trends related to the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting a year that saw hopes for travel rise and then fall again as Aussie cities moved in and out of lockdowns.
In January 2021, requests for language tuition increased by 32% and the number of house sitting gigs increased by 15%.
When the New Zealand border bubble was announced in May, demand for house sitters soared even further, increasing 76% month-on-month.
As easing restrictions in Melbourne and Sydney saw people returning to the office and put social events back on the agenda, requests for home help increased by 46%.
Requests for security guards increased by 40% in October while jobs in hospitality services increased 145%. This perhaps reflects the challenges relating to COVID-19 vaccine checks as hospitality and retail businesses reopened, as well as critical staff shortages.
At the same time, Airtasker bookings for hair and beauty treatments also shot up, with demand for mobile hairdressing up 47% and requests for mobile nail technicians up 44%.
Demand for tattoo artists also skyrocketed at this time, up a massive 265% in October 2021, compared to the previous month.
Demand for tattoo design and ink work was up 36% for the whole of 2021, compared to 2020.
And finally, 2021 wasn’t all lockdowns, doom and gloom. In July Aussies embraced the Olympic Games and got inspired to get sporty themselves. During this time, fitness-related requests increased by 133%.
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