Freelance work: Is it now considered a dying industry?
July 23rd, 2010
Freelancing was a big boom in 2006. People quit their jobs and be a freelancer. They get to demand their own price, work on their own rules and at their own time. The biggest advantage of working as a freelancer is you get to have a work-life balance. You get to spend more time with your family as much as you like. However in 2008, the recession period has hit the freelancers hard. Customers were canceling their orders for freelance work. Some freelancers had to lower their price to secure at least two or three jobs. Others had to do a ‘buy one take one’ deal with their customers. In the end, they had to re-think about their game plan and go for the unthinkable – find an 8 to 5 job and sit in an office all day. Not really a good idea but it is better than to wait for unemployment benefits from the government. The unemployment benefits freelance is very minimal. The amount is not even enough to cover for a week’s expenses. If you check online for unemployment benefits freelance work is in the lowest category for each industry. According to a representative in the Department of Labor and Employment, freelance work does not contribute much in the economy as it is considered a project-based type of industry wherein the government can only impose 3% to 4% tax. Compared to person who works for a company, an income-based type of industry is being imposed with 5% to 10% tax, depending on their skill set and job category. The representative further stated that some freelance work are not being recorded as most of them are proposed and agreed online, most especially if the work required is on another country. As we are about to complete the second quarter of the year 2010, it seems like the freelance industry will take a backseat until probably, promising projects will be made available to the freelancers.
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