Comments on: Unemployment, The Economic Downturn and Web Working

By: Matthias Wayland

Matthias Wayland — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 04:43:35 +0000

I’ve read elsewhere that the biggest losses have been in manufacturing and retail. Part of the reason for the retail losses, besides slowing sales and layoffs, may be the failure of retailers to live up to the seasonal hiring expectations that are used to adjust the numbers. This year the big box store have avoided temporary hires in favor of more hours (and even overtime) for their many part time employees.

By: WWD’s 2009 in Review, Part 1

WWD’s 2009 in Review, Part 1 — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:01:41 +0000

[...] 2009 started quietly as far as many web workers were concerned, but significant tech news included offline support being added to Gmail, many web workers’ email client of choice, while GrandCentral’s SSL certificate expired (which caused Judi to ask whether Google was going to shutter the service — a question that was answered later in the year when Google Voice was launched). Meanwhile, the state of the economy was grabbing the headlines, prompting Dawn to evaluate what impact the downturn might have on web workers. [...]

By: Is Competition a Numbers Game?

Is Competition a Numbers Game? — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:02:41 +0000

[...] pay the bills while they continue their search for another full-time job. In a previous post about unemployment, the economic downturn, and web working, I talked a little more about this trend with a few numbers to back up my [...]

By: Rebecca Haden

Rebecca Haden — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 13:59:15 +0000

The thing I noticed about the economic downturn and freelancing is that my private clients — and those of my colleagues in this field — got really slow about paying. I’m working more on oDesk now, because there are high quality jobs there for high quality workers, and payment is guaranteed. This has allowed me to be patient and compassionate with private clients who are having trouble keeping up.

By: WebWorkerDaily » Archive Is Telecommuting Still an Option in an Economic Downturn? «

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 18:00:13 +0000

[...] 21st, 2009 (10:00am) Celine Roque No Comments In a recent post here at WWD, Dawn Foster brought up a discussion about the direction that online freelancing is likely to take this year. It might be interesting to look at the other half of the web working population – corporate [...]

By: Blogging Elsewhere at Fast Wonder Blog: Consulting, Online Communities, and Social Media

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 17:01:26 +0000

[...] Unemployment, The Economic Downturn and Web Working [...]

By: Some Great Info on Economic Indicators « Success, Acumen and Fortune

Some Great Info on Economic Indicators « Success, Acumen and Fortune — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 04:22:38 +0000

[...] http://webworkerdaily.com/2009/01/12/unemployment-the-economic-downturn-and-web-working/ [...]

By: And now we play the waiting game | Web Directions

And now we play the waiting game | Web Directions — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 02:53:44 +0000

[...] Interesting article over at Web Worker Daily talking about the impact of the recession, at least from the US point of view. [...]

By: Dominic Taverniti

Dominic Taverniti — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:15:33 +0000

Dawn,

Thanks for the thought provoking article. Along the lines of Jo L.’s reference to oDesk, my experience in the that particular marketplace left me feeling that the low-cost war WAS the value.

If the trend towards telecommuting and web working continues, I would suspect that the transition isn’t going to be as simple as telling current employees to stop driving into work—though that will be part of it. After the cost saving of cutting the workforce, a conceptual shift to a telecommute model will send companies out to build a remote workforce.

I would agree that oDesk’s niche isn’t going meet top tier U.S. company needs. It brings to mind the current ads and market focus of The Ladder – $100K+ jobs and candidates. I look forward to a quality-driven marketplace for remote workers, to fill the void that price-based auction marketplaces aren’t meeting.

I hope my comments are on topic.

By: Jo L.

Jo L. — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:09:35 +0000

The use of oDesk as a reference is telling. Because they’re leveraging international workers, I’ve seen web design jobs on that site with an average bid of $8/hr. Great news! There are more minimum wage jobs available for experienced and skilled tech workers!

In my mind the more successful they’re doing, the harder it’s going to be for a US tech or web worker to find gigs. I understand globalization is the new reality and I’m not griping, I just don’t think it’s good news to see that $8/hr. jobs are on the rise.