FREELANCING AT THE FRONTIER: HOW UZBEK YOUTH COMPARE WITH THEIR PEERS IN ADVANCED ECONOMIES

Freelancing and other types of platform‑mediated, short‑term work have emerged as a visible pathway for youth employment globally. Based on a 300‑respondent bilingual (Uzbek/Russian) survey of 16-30‑year‑olds in Uzbekistan (May 2025), this article profiles awareness, motivations, barriers, earnings patterns, and support needs among early‑stage and prospective freelancers. We place the Uzbek evidence within the international literature on solo self‑employment and the gig economy. Earlier research contends that the solo self‑employed comprise a distinctive “third” segment of the labor market requiring bespoke policy across four areas: decent‑work deficits, entrepreneurship support, activation of marginalized groups, and well‑being – an agenda encapsulated in the “blurred trinary divide”. Comparative policy analyses of 31 European nations also reveal that self-employed workers tend to have tighter eligibility and lower entitlements (particularly for unemployment and occupational accidents) than employees, which challenges the attainment of SDG 8 (“decent work for all”) and SDG 10 (“reduced inequalities”). Research on the gig economy targeting youth emphasizes this twofold nature: flexibility, low barriers to entry, and diversification of skills on one side, and volatile income and reduced benefits on the other. We also rely on revised taxonomies of remote mobile work to establish boundaries with neighboring modalities (e.g., digital nomadism). Uzbekistan survey results point to strong interest but weak practical take‑up, with information gaps, start‑up finance, access to international payments, and language proficiency among leading constraints. We suggest a policy package that connects lighter‑touch registration and taxation with payment‑rail access, contributory micro‑benefits for solo workers, accelerated skills pipelines, and formalized mentorship-oriented to unleashing freelance potential among youth while sidelining decent‑work shortfalls.