Unemployment in the Philippines
The unemployment rate in the Philippines decreased by 1.6% in January 2023 from 6.2% in the same month of 2022, based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority's website. That means 2.47 million Filipinos were unemployed during the survey period.
Many Filipinos discovered freelancing during the pandemic. In a LinkedIn article by Anna Soronio, she stated, "In the data gathered by PayPal in 2018 for the Global Freelancer Insights Report, there are about 2%, or 1.5 million to 2 million, Filipino freelancers in the Philippines. In addition, the Philippines placed in the top 6 out of the top 10 countries with the fastest-growing market for freelancers, showing a 35% growth in freelance earnings, according to the 2019 report by CNBC. Moreover, these data seem to show Filipinos a promising future in the freelancing world, working side-by-side with others abroad and building connections that are never thought possible."
Freelancing Industry
The online world played a crucial role in the advent of COVID-19. The crisis brought advantages to those who did not lose hope and found ways to thrive instead. They shared their story on their social media platforms. A good example is Louise Jen Manalo, who created the Facebook group "Thriving Freelancers PH." She defined the group as "A community of Filipino freelancers with the same vision of working on their own time, earning a salary that complements their hard work, and having the freedom to choose the right clients aligned to their interests and principles." The number of group members (at the time of drafting this) is 31.4k. She shared her freelancing success story on TikTok.
The group is open to aspiring freelancers too. In one of Louise's posts, she shared a list of virtual assistant/freelancing agencies that accept newbies. They are the following:
Athena
Coconut VA
The VA Hub
Hellorache
Pineapple Staffing
Filta Global
FAVA
Virtual Squad
HireSmart VA
Career Shepherd
Crewbloom
The Best Freelance Websites
Upwork
For us, the best freelance website is Upwork. It keeps on evolving to cater to the needs and wants of both the freelancers and the clients.
Other freelancing sites that we think are the best in some aspects are the following:
Fiverr
On this freelance site, freelancers can sell their work. They do not need to send an application to earn. All they have to do is get noticed by a client. Upwork has integrated this concept too. This is one of the best sites for those who wish to work from home.
Freelancer.com
This online job site is similar to Upwork, but we read many complaints about it, so we do not highly recommend it.
This is an online learning platform where students and tutors meet virtually through chat. To become a Course Hero tutor, one must submit an application on their site, attach necessary documents, and wait for approval. This is how Upwork works too. They screen freelancers before they are allowed to do freelance jobs on the site.
Freelancing has changed many lives around the world. We read many success stories from different social media groups, so we posted this article.
We hope that this article can spark interest and inspire those who are having difficulties finding a job or are losing hope.
Maybe your future is in remote work. Keep on working and praying for the better.
People's economic conditions play a vital role in the overall economic growth.