World Bank report examines global online labor landscape

The World Bank has released a report examining the global landscape of online outsourcing (OO), a phenomenon where services are contracted to distributed, remote workers via internet-based marketplaces. The study explores how these technology-mediated channels, including platforms like Amazon Mechanical Turk, Upwork, CrowdFlower, and CloudFactory, can serve as innovative approaches for job creation, youth employment, and women's empowerment, particularly in developing countries.

In addition to the broader global study, cohort analysis of Amazon Mechanical Turk requesters indicates shifts in platform activity. Data suggests that while new requester acquisition compensated for losses in prior cohorts until March 2015, there has been a notable trend regarding the number of active requesters on the platform.