Mumbai, Mar 12 (IANS): With the pandemic disrupting the job market, hiring for freelance jobs in India grew 22 per cent in January 2021 compared to a year ago, said a report from job site Indeed on Friday.

The data also showed that postings for freelance jobs spiked between May and June 2020, a near two-fold increase from the same period in 2019.

With the implementation of work-from-home structures, job search activity post March 2020 was consistently higher than pre-pandemic levels, peaking in April 2020.

However, data showed that at any point in time, freelance job postings have outstripped freelance job searches.

The growth was driven by creative, tech, sales and recruitment fields as these sectors contributed to 55 per cent of the freelance jobs posted on Indeed.

As of January 2021, freelance writer was the most in-demand job in this segment, followed by freelance designer, recruiter, developer and digital marketer.

Business development executive and PhP developer also emerged in the top-10 freelance job titles in India.

Data highlights that searches for freelance jobs were highest in the 20-29 year age group -- this cohort contributed to 73 per cent of freelance job searches on Indeed in January 2021.

"Pushing the freelance community to the fore, the pandemic year witnessed increased hiring and search momentum for freelance jobs on Indeed," Sashi Kumar, Managing Director, Indeed India, said in a statement.

"We believe that changes in the external job environment and the added flexibility of work-from-home, has significantly improved the attitude of the employer and job seeker towards freelance jobs."

The five top paying freelance jobs in India included PHP developer, recruiter, business development executive, content writer and digital marketer, said the report.