It’s a whole new game out there, and it’s not about sports. It is about free agency and how it is quickly emerging as a just-in-time, mutually beneficial talent solution.

Over the course of the next weeks I will share with you my top 10 list of things you need to know about free agents. To start with, here are the first three:

• Freelance - THE FREE AGENT WORKSTYLE IS ON THE RISE:
A free agent is an individual who freelances, consults, does temporary or contract work, or has their own business. Today they make up 44% of the active workforce in the United States.

As the labor market recovers and the nation returns to more stable employment conditions, we believe the proportion of free agents in the U.S. working population will reset to 30-35%.

• Freewill - MICROPRENEURS ARE LEADING THE WAY:
Those freelancing on their own as independent contractors and entrepreneurs without staff are called micropreneurs. This segment of the free agent population is growing fast. It now represents 30% of the U.S. workforce, an increase of nearly 70% since 2008.

• Freethinking -IN EVERY GENERATION, WORKERS ARE CLASSIFYING THEMSELVES AS FREE AGENTS:
Within every generational group, there is a significant increase in the percentage of workers who classify themselves as free agents today compared to 2008.