If you’re looking for jobs, you are intimately familiar with the tight market, but have you thought about the reasons why there may be fewer openings in your industry? It may not be because there is less work, especially if your skills are in demand. Instead, perhaps your industry is following the growing trend of hiring freelancers and contract workers to get the work done instead of advertising for full-time help. What does the workplace of the future look like?

According to MBO Partners’ State of Independence in America report, the number of independent workers is expected to rise to 23 million by 2017. New online platforms, such as oDesk and Elance, help companies and businesses connect with individuals seeking opportunities. Savvy job seekers are building online portfolios and learning how to succeed as freelancers.

There doesn’t seem to be a question that freelancing and crowdsourcing will be key factors for anyone who wants a paycheck, but it doesn’t necessarily mean there will be no full-time jobs. Rob Rawson, CEO of Staff.com, an outsourcing platform that focuses on full-time work, says, “We believe future hiring trends will focus more on full-time work, with companies hiring highly skilled staff members globally. Full-time work is not about to go out of style. Managers are looking for reliable income streams and companies are interested in people they can count on, so this type of full-time work is not about to be replaced by freelancing any time soon.”

What’s the difference between crowdsourcing and freelancing? Rawson explains: “In crowdsourcing, many different people work on a task that can be broken down into multiple small components. The idea is that the wisdom of the crowd can be greater than the results you achieve from hiring one individual.”

Freelancing, on the other hand, focuses on hiring one person to handle a particular job or project.

It’s crucial for job seekers to recognize this global economy and how it factors into opportunities and how to find them.

What does the future of online work look like? Rawson believes the following are key factors for people to consider:

Increasing globalization.

Freelance work for certain types of jobs.

Full-time work is not likely to go away.

Global competition is going to be fierce for knowledge workers.

Savvy job seekers will keep an eye on how market trends affect how their jobs are being filled. Those looking for work that can easily be outsourced, or even crowd sourced, should identify ways to stand out and avoid being a commodity. Determine how to compete on factors beyond price and learn to market you and your skills as a valuable solution for target employers.

Read the whole post on U.S. News & World Report.