According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of people who are self-employed increased to roughly 42 million at the end of 2009. Data introduced today by Elance shows its online talent pool made more than $70 million in 2009 - a 45 percent increase for US service providers alone since the beginning of last year.

Some emerging trends for skills in demand so far in 2010 include:

1. Mobile madness: Demand for mobile development exploded as one of the fastest growing skill subcategories, with a 180 percent increase in earnings in 2009. And, in 2010, there is already strong demand for mobile skills.
2. Craving creativity: Dollars spent by businesses hiring creative skill sets increased over 40 percent in 2009, and the growing trend continues this year.
3. On-and-offline marketing: Demand for both online and traditional marketing talent continued to grow rapidly in 2009. Top marketing skills, including Search Engine Optimization (#1), Internet Marketing (#2), Lead Generation (#3), and Social Media Marketing (#7) showed a 46 percent growth in earnings.

The online world has exploded and, as the Elance report shows, this key employment segment isn't going anywhere.