As the coronavirus continues to spread across the globe, remote working has become the new norm and many freelancers wonder what will be the future of freelancing. Payoneer conducted a survey, asking more than 1,000 freelancers from over one hundred countries, that how the coronavirus has affected the demand for their business, their hourly fees, and what are their expectations regarding freelancing once the pandemic is under control.
The respondents provided Payoneer with some unique insights about the opportunities and risks they expect will arise due to the coronavirus, and what they believe would be the future of freelancing after the coronavirus outbreak is under control.
Payoneer published a blog post providing three takeaways from their report. Initially, they asked the freelancers about the variation in demand for their services during the last three months. Around 32% of them stated that the demand for their services has been reduced greatly due to coronavirus. Although, 23% of them said that they experienced no variation in the demand for their skills while according to 17% of them, the demand for their services has been increased during the last three months.
Moreover, freelancers working with clients from Europe or North America reported the most significant decrease in demand. While those freelancers working with clients from Australia or Asia reported less slowdown in demand for their services. Australia and Asia are regions that were first affected by the coronavirus. This implies that the demand for freelancers will revive in the regions which slowly start to recover from the coronavirus.
Although the demand for some freelancers has reduced, it seems that the hourly rates remain stable. According to the survey, around 74% of the freelancers stated that their hourly rates continued to remain the same. Only 23% stated that they had to reduce their hourly rates due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It seems that freelancers don’t feel any need to change their rates and are pretty self-assured that their fees offer significant value.
Lastly, they asked the freelancers what are their expectations about freelancing once the situation is under control. Most of the freelancers are concerned whether the economy will prevail as the coronavirus has greatly impacted the global trade adversely. They asked the freelancers that whether they expect the demand for their services will increase or not. A total of 53% freelancers stated that they expect the demand to increase after the outbreak is under control, while 21% expect that the demand will remain the same as it was before the coronavirus outbreak.
Overall, Payoneer's survey suggests that although the demand for freelancing services has been reduced in the short-term, a lot of freelancers are optimistic about the future of freelancing post-coronavirus.
Read next: Coronavirus Scammers Take Advantage of Fiverr and Other Platforms
The respondents provided Payoneer with some unique insights about the opportunities and risks they expect will arise due to the coronavirus, and what they believe would be the future of freelancing after the coronavirus outbreak is under control.
Payoneer published a blog post providing three takeaways from their report. Initially, they asked the freelancers about the variation in demand for their services during the last three months. Around 32% of them stated that the demand for their services has been reduced greatly due to coronavirus. Although, 23% of them said that they experienced no variation in the demand for their skills while according to 17% of them, the demand for their services has been increased during the last three months.
Moreover, freelancers working with clients from Europe or North America reported the most significant decrease in demand. While those freelancers working with clients from Australia or Asia reported less slowdown in demand for their services. Australia and Asia are regions that were first affected by the coronavirus. This implies that the demand for freelancers will revive in the regions which slowly start to recover from the coronavirus.
Although the demand for some freelancers has reduced, it seems that the hourly rates remain stable. According to the survey, around 74% of the freelancers stated that their hourly rates continued to remain the same. Only 23% stated that they had to reduce their hourly rates due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It seems that freelancers don’t feel any need to change their rates and are pretty self-assured that their fees offer significant value.
Lastly, they asked the freelancers what are their expectations about freelancing once the situation is under control. Most of the freelancers are concerned whether the economy will prevail as the coronavirus has greatly impacted the global trade adversely. They asked the freelancers that whether they expect the demand for their services will increase or not. A total of 53% freelancers stated that they expect the demand to increase after the outbreak is under control, while 21% expect that the demand will remain the same as it was before the coronavirus outbreak.
Overall, Payoneer's survey suggests that although the demand for freelancing services has been reduced in the short-term, a lot of freelancers are optimistic about the future of freelancing post-coronavirus.
Read next: Coronavirus Scammers Take Advantage of Fiverr and Other Platforms
