The Growth of Freelancing in the Wake of a Pandemic

Payoneer

The gig economy has shown significant growth in recent years as an increasing number of people have begun to consider a career in freelancing. Rapid changes in technology and workplace expectations have proven that there’s no longer a singular way to work and traditional employment models are just one of many options.

Earlier this year, freelancers worldwide found themselves impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic, which caused countries around the world to shut down and forced company employees to work entirely remotely.

To begin with, the pandemic had a negative impact on freelancers, with many companies pulling budgets and freezing both projects and any outsource hiring. As the pandemic has endured, however, the optimistic outlook of freelancers for long-term growth has proven to be reflected in reality and revenues begin to climb once more, reports Payoneer, a cross-border payments company.

It’s not just the freelance community that is noticing the growth either. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, leading marketplaces have reported a rapid growth in new freelancers entering the platforms, as well as steadiness in the demand for services from businesses worldwide.

“While the development of the COVID-19 pandemic is uncertain and far from being over, we were encouraged to see that our marketplace was able to quickly rebound and resume growth”, said Micha Kaufman, Founder and CEO of Fiverr in a letter to shareholders.

A strong area of growth in this age of freelancing, and one that has seen rapid growth due to the current pandemic, is E-learning.

The Rise of E-Learning in the COVID-19 Era

While online education has been growing steadily in the past few years, the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly paved the way for even stronger market growth. Social distancing measures and the sudden shift to quarantine has meant millions of people worldwide have had to quickly adapt to a new reality; connecting solely online in order to teach, work, and learn. Others found themselves out of a job and had to quickly shift gears to learn a new, digital trade.

Even before the outbreak, though, the E-learning industry was skyrocketing with the market expecting to reach an eye-watering $350 billion by 2025.

According to Payoneer’s report into E-learning, 74% of professional skills teachers and 73% of foreign language teachers joined the online education industry within the last two years, suggesting that the demand for E-learning has boomed in recent years, even before the pandemic broke out.

Interestingly, the earning potential is an attractive aspect that is drawing in teachers worldwide. According to the survey, 58% of foreign language teachers earn above $500 per month and almost half of these earn between $1,000-$3,000 per month. Depending where these online teachers reside, this level of income can offer a comfortable lifestyle.

As for those teaching professional skills, almost 52% generate income of $500+ per month, 21% earn between $1,000 to $3,000 and 8% earn even more.

Furthermore, when a staggering 90% of all e-teachers reported that they would consider making online teaching their primary source of income once the pandemic is under control and if demand exists, it’s clearly a sign that E-learning is an industry to be taken seriously by all.

Cross-border payments for freelancers

For companies, there are plenty of advantages of doing business with freelancers; they often offer lower rates as they have less overheads, they can be hired on a short-term basis and work flexible hours without the need for adding on payments for health insurance and other full-time employee costs, and they can offer specialized expertise on an ad-hoc basis.

However, despite all the benefits, many organizations have questions when it comes to using freelancers on a more regular basis.

One of the major issues for both companies and freelancers, especially those who have clients based abroad, is getting paid in a currency that is both convenient for them as well as their clients. With pools of talent often based in far flung places beyond a company’s geographical borders, the ability to access this talent is crucial.

The traditional banking system can be a challenge, however, due to slow and expensive methods of transferring funds in return for work done. In addition to the fees charged by banks (whether it be for credit card payments, wire transfers or ACH transfers), exchange rates can also significantly impact on the take-home earnings the freelancer receives.

The surge in fintech companies like Payoneer, indicate how much of a need there is to solve this problem and how these companies have been able to satisfy the demand from freelancers to be able to streamline their payments, at lower cost, and enable them to expand their business conveniently and effectively.

Online payment platforms provide companies with a secure and seamless way to make global payments to freelancers using a variety of methods. Helping to boost and make the freelancing economy more efficient is due to companies being able to pay multiple international freelancers at once while enjoying reduced processing costs due to increased volumes.

It’s clear, then, that the fintech world is heavily impacting on not only the traditional banking system but is also opening the world to freelancers by empowering them to grow their business beyond the borders they work in. It also seems that the current pandemic has acted as a sort of catalyst to an existing trend towards a more flexible working model, a model that promises a bright future for those currently on board, as well as those looking to kickstart a new and more flexible career path.