CHICAGO — If you’re a writer, a web designer or a software programmer looking for some freelance work, you might have heard of Elance.com. But what if you’re a recruiter or hiring manager looking for those skills for temporary or contract work?

Mike Fox, director of marketing for Elance, was at the Onrec / Kennedy Information Recruiting Conference and Expo last week to spread the Elance message to recruiters and HR-types.

With so many staff reductions across the nation, many companies are turning to contractors or temporary workers to accomplish work that regular employees used to do, Fox said, and Elance is trying to take advantage of that trend. And even after companies begin staffing up again, Fox sees a continuing and growing need for contract help.

Elance tries to match contractors in a variety of specialities with work needed by mostly small and medium-sized businesses. The Web site allows companies to post project specifications and potential contractors to bid on the work. There’s a sophisticated process for monitoring project progress and payments, and there’s a lot of transparency about both the contractors and the companies offering work.

Elance providers’ services include translation, graphic design, sales and marketing, administrative, legal, finance and engineering. Fox said part of his job is to identify the needs of businesses and try to attract providers to meet those needs.

The Elance site keeps a running total of the number of jobs posted in the previous 30 days (27,618 at this writing), the number of “experts” available (100,476), and the total provider earnings (nearly $228 million).

It’s cool stuff, although a little unusual for a recruitment industry trade show. That’s part of what makes it cool.