Fewer projects and income: how the work of freelancers changed during the war in Ukraine
Since the beginning of the war 67.3% of freelancers felt a lack of projects, and 70.17% of them are dissatisfied with the level of income. At the same time, more than half of freelancers – 74.79% – receive less than $500 per month for their work, according to a study by Freelancehunt, notes AIN.
On average, only 15.76% of specialists receive up to 1000. 6.13% of performers earn from $1,000 to $2,000. More than 2,000 manage to get 1.97% of specialists. Over 3,000 earn just 1.35% on average. Among them are programmers, engineers, designers, marketers.
The majority (66.52%) of freelancers experienced a decrease in income since the beginning of the war. Programmers, designers and copywriters have suffered the most. The earnings of 24.93% of performers did not change in any way, and 8.55% even managed to increase it.
At the same time, for 50.28% of specialists, freelancing is not the only source of income. 49.72% of respondents have no other sources of income.
Freelancers’ earnings depend on projects, which have also been reduced. The amount of work decreased by 67.3% after the start of the war. At the same time, 75.63% stayed to work in their specialty. 14.35% had to change it due to a drop in demand for their services and 10.02% – due to a lack of projects.
The cost of services has not changed for almost half (52.9%) of freelancers. 28.31% had to lower the price, and 18.79% were even able to raise it. At the same time, 56.76% felt increased competition. For 39.08%, this factor remained unchanged in the labor market.
The average freelancer is 24 to 35 years old. The number of newcomers to freelance is actively growing – if last year they were only 6%, then this year – 18%. Experienced freelancers accounted for the largest share among those surveyed – 36.18% of them.
The number of men and women in freelancing is about the same, although the share of men is not much greater. 44% of the experts interviewed are married. 28% of the total number of those who are in a relationship or without a partner.
We will remind that the IT sphere of Ukraine also felt the impact of the war. The majority of salaries of IT specialists in Ukraine have stopped growing, but only 5% of those surveyed lost their jobs, and 92% kept working full-time.