Auckland-based company The Freelance Project has become a New Zealand only online outsourcing marketplace, allowing businesses to outsource work to freelancing professionals across the country.

The launch suggests the online freelance industry is gaining momentum with self-employed workers now using the internet to find work.

"The word recession has become a very good excuse for almost everything now,” says Kevin Sun, Founder of The Freelance Project. "There are those who cling on tighter to what they own, and then there are those who see the opportunity to change for the rest of the world to follow.

"Turning traditional employment methods into a digital outsourcing marketplace not only means saving money for businesses but also providing skilled professionals with more income opportunities in the so-called recession and a self-managed lifestyle.”

As the country hovers around 6 percent unemployment, the demand for contract workers is on the rise through online marketplaces.

Through The Freelance Project, business clients post a project and receive bids from freelancing professionals.The idea of shifting through endless CVs and recruitment campaigns could be lost through a different way of hiring staff for companies seeking short-term assistance without the need for long-term commitment.

Project categories include software, mobile application, web design, content writing, graphic design, video production and data entry.

Through working digitally, businesses have the option of selecting a bidder meaning they have ideas presented to them before a decision is made – avoiding any problems over quality and payment.

The site provides feedback for clients to evaluate freelance profiles with an online payment platform and messaging system in place for clear party communication.

Given the recession has yet to ease its stranglehold on jobs in the country, The Freelance Project believe finding work through the click of a button appears the next logical step back into employment.

www.freelanceproject.co.nz