In the new market for distance working, the main immediate opportunities are for contract or "freelance" work rather than for conventional employer-employee relationships. There are significant practical and organisational barriers inhibiting both employers and individuals from agreeing normal contracts of employment when geographically distant from each other. When the separation also includes national boundaries there are additional legal, fiscal and regulatory complications – or fears about these, which has the same effect.
A growing supply of individuals connected to the Internet and looking for work, has met relatively low demand from companies, who have tended to focus on purely local recruitment.