HR & work

MBO Partners counts a record 74.9 million Americans working independently in 2026, and Upwork says freelancers doing AI work earn 34 percent more per hour than those who do not. Editorial Freelancers Association members report median copyediting rates of $40 to $50 an hour for fiction, while Fiverr's marketplace take rate reached 28.2 percent. Self-employed people pay both halves of payroll tax, 12.4 percent for Social Security and 2.9 percent for Medicare, according to the IRS.

US employers paid an average of $49.46 per hour worked for civilian workers in June 2026, of which $15.61 went to benefits, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Compensation costs rose 3.4 percent in the year to September 2026, with benefits up 3.9 percent, and Mercer's employer survey projects health benefit costs per employee to rise 8.2 percent in 2027. KFF puts the average family health premium at $28,303 in 2026, and Eurostat puts the EU average labor cost at €34.9 per hour in 2025.