Earlier this year, freelancers worldwide found themselves impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused countries to shut down and forced company employees to work entirely remotely.
With this in mind, we set out to understand how COVID-19 had impacted the freelance economy and what global freelancers expected to see happen in both the long and short term. Our report published the results of a survey of freelancers worldwide and found that while they were feeling an initial drop in demand due to an overall slowdown in the global economy, they were optimistic that demand would bounce back.
Six months on, we review how those expectations shaped up.
In our new report, we reflect on those expectations and reveal that their optimism was spot on. We also analyzed four of the world’s hottest freelancer markets (India, Pakistan, Ukraine, and the U.S.), providing an overview of how the freelance economy in these markets has responded to changing realities in light of the pandemic.
The Future of Freelance is Bright & Demand is Surging Globally
Back in March, close to 32% of freelancers reported that demand had greatly decreased as a result of the overall slowdown in the global economy.
However, regarding the long-term future of freelancing, 53% of respondents expected demand would increase from levels seen even before the pandemic. Freelancers were clearly very optimistic about demand bouncing back post-pandemic.
In our latest report, these expectations for a return to healthy demand within the freelancing economy have certainly come true, and, in some cases, demand has grown significantly.
*The data above represents the month-on-month growth in global freelance revenue since January for the first half of 2020.
Freelancing has once again, bounced back and, in many cases, is experiencing a real surge as both talented professionals and businesses turn to this mode of work in larger numbers.
To discover more insights into today’s global gig-economy and trends in both emerging and developed markets, download the report today!