How many people are working as VAs?
We currently estimate that approximately 5,000 individuals internationally are using the term Virtual Assistant to describe their businesses. Of course, the overall number of home-based individuals offering business-support services virtually – temps, freelancers, call center contractors, etc. – is much higher. (A recent study by the International Telework Association & Council, for example, indicates that 16.5 million teleworkers in the US alone are self-employed. Free agent expert Dan Pink estimates that 33 million Americans are now working for themselves. With broadband Internet present in over half of American homes, such numbers suggest that the virtual career trend is probably much larger than has been officially estimated.
