Less jobs on upwork in 2024

[astrid_l]

Hi everybody,

I came here to find an explanation to the absence of qualitative job posts in 2024.
I was away from the platform for a few months, I just came back and I'm very surprised: there are so few job posts compared to a few months ago.
What happened? When I left, it was this huge scam period where I was invited by scammers every day. I see that Upwork handled this problem since it seems to be over.
But what with the empty feed now? I used to browse twice a day and there were always 3-5 new jobs I would apply to.
I'm back here for two weeks and these numbers have turned into 0-1.
Also I was wondering if the jobs I've applied for were scams, since my proposals are not viewed by the clients.
A few months go, I would already have been interviewed and eventually hired.

Well I guess I've found the answer in this thread:
https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/Less-jobs-on-upwork-2023/m-p/1280367/highlight/true#M751...
"I don't understand why reputable customers post jobs but no one gets interviewed"
Answer: "Clients got turned-off after opening 10+ proposals (which are all garbage)".

Upwork's algorithm showing "Best match" to an irrelevant profile is sure not doing any good.
But if reputable clients are so pissed off that they give up without even opening the relevant freelancer's proposals, well everybody's got a big problem here.
Also I did notice some Upwork advertising in my country lately, explaining the new type of low quality clients not speaking any English, not knowing what they want, trying to get some free consult in the chat by "interviewing you".
Nobody wants this type of clients, they will never buy a consult and never hire anyone. They're just here cause they've seen an ad and thought "let's see what I can get from this".
Reputable and serious clients know Upwork already, they don't need any advertisement. Please stop dragging in low quality people.

[danijel_konatar]

Hi, we are in the same situation. Before, I had to turn down clients because I didn't have time for all the projects, and now I'm not getting interview calls or jobs for which I apply. Out of my last 30 job applications, only one has been reviewed, and that is very strange. I think Upwork is "dead" and is only sustained by the purchase of connections.

[astrid_l]

Exactly in the same situation, a few months ago I was turning down clients. 

I just came across a job post from a home renovation contractor looking for an electrician. What is this Upwork, are you turning into Indeed ? 

[wlyonsatl]

I have seen a mild uptick in new job availability and requests for proposals since the turn of the year, but Upwork reduced its advertising and marketing budget in the 3rd quarter of 2023. And the most recent Upwork ad campaign I've seen in the US has focused on larger companies who would use Upwork as an employment agency for permanent employees. But at least that message was clear; much better than the prior ad campaign's use of zombies as central characters.

[crart]

You want to tell me UW is now work agency rather than freelancer platform? Well that explains a lot of shady stuff they do.

[tjmisny]

Yes, that zombie campaign was f*cking dismal.  I work in video advertising and that was a horribly wasteful disaster of a production.  

[crart]

Maybe they hired some of the "uber-top-best-match" freelancers they push to the top of searches and proposals lists all the time despite their absolute lack of any skill or relevance 😂 At least it was cheap work.

[filip_knezevic]

Because they are trying to find the best match (CHEAPEST :D) on other platforms.

It's kind of a bull**bleep** argument that all proposals are bad. For every descent job posted a few top freelancers will apply.

All the client has to do is to pick one of the top guys and to pay their price.

But they want "experts" for 6 usd per hour wages.

Also, seems the crysis and inflation had hit Amerika, so the clients do not want to invest if not absolutely needed.

I've heard it is expected that inflation and EXTREMELY high prices are going to start dropping in 2024, so maybe Upwork will get out of recession as well.

You can see they are not doing that good as they were before by the number of money squeezing technicques from freelancers they had adopted

For example, I have two best clients right now. We have projecdts for almost two years. Since Upwork was so greedy and they punished the best freelancers by not taking 5% from us, I can't wait to get both of these clients off the platform.

I would never (and had never before) brought a client outside, but n ow I will be more than happy to do it. It's only Upwork's loss.

The worst thing is they don't give a single fudge about the freelancers and their suggestions. We keep getting neglected and more terrible features are adopted.

They just don't care and it's starting to fall down on them. 

[tjmisny]

I agree 100% with your message, Astrid.

Clients are seeing numerous junk-quality freelancers labeled "Best Match" plus random freelancers of varying quality with Boosted Posts, plus many other freelancers who are using AI tools to draft lazy templatized cover letters.... and their trust in the platform implodes.  Considering that there are several platform upcharges and fees that make Upwork an expensive proposition to commit to, clients are increasingly deciding to skip Upwork because it's getting more expensive and becomes more of a cheap casino every day.

[pinkcats46]

Hi! I'm in the exact same situation. I used to get invites for interviews all the time, a few each week. Now I hardly get any, and what I apply to doesn't even get viewed by the client. So strange. I've been on Upwork since 2007, and have NEVER experienced this. I'm forced to look elsewhere for work now. I'm so disappointed. This platform used to serve me so well. 😞 

[ccc7b8bd]

Hi Cynthia - any hits where to go any other portals worth investing time? 2022 - 10 000 monthly easy, 2023 - more like 3000 monthly - 2024 - let's not speak about it. Whatever Upwork done - they killed the portal - I need to also investigate other options - if somebody found some other place where people with 14+ years of experiance can go - please share. 🙂

[tjmisny]

That's so upsetting to hear, Cynthia.  We're both Expert Vetted Freelancers with hundreds of thousands in earnings....  I feel like Upwork is not only abandoning us, but sticking us with the task of paying for the platform upkeep since we are most likely to overspend on Boosted posts.  

[pinkcats46]

What can we do to be heard? I know they're a business about making money and I understand that but we actually helped them get this way! Lol. 

[tjmisny]

I have tried several time to write to Upper Management, and my Expert Vetted Talent scout has not been consistent with responding.  I had a virtual meeting with a person whose job it is to field feedback at Upwork... had two meetings with her, but she just asked a bunch of stock questions rather than actually listen to my concerns.  I figure these are concerns Upwork simply does not want to hear beacuse they are too concerned with what the shareholders want.  

[pinkcats46]

Wow! I guess you really have tried to reach out to them. That's so unfortunate. It's always about money and greed. Have you tried going to other sites instead? 

[tjmisny]

I haven't seen one that is worth investing time in so far.  Fiverr looks like a joke.  Thankfully I don't depend on Upwork for my business - most of my work comes from non-UW clients.  

[ccc7b8bd]

Hi Thomas - any hits where to go any other portals worth investing time? 2022 - 10 000 monthly easy, 2023 - more like 3000 monthly - 2024 - let's not speak about it. Whatever Upwork done - they killed the portal - I need to also investigate other options at this point - sadly Upwork will be second Fiver by the end of 2024 - so no point staying here - if somebody found some other place where people with 14+ years of experiance can go - please share. 🙂

[fo0xy]

I have the same issue now. Have a strong profile, great skills, and not over-crowded niche. Used to receive a lot of invitations and projects. The last 6 months it's been super quite. Tried updating profile and play with the pricing, nothing helps. Upwork algorithm put me way down in the search for no reason.

I guess we all need to move forward and build business elsewhere.

[khushbu_gohil]

Because potential clients are somewhere else

[glen-s]

Unfortunately, we are the 'workers' for Upwork and what we think or do does not matter to them - unless there is some sort of collective movement that reminds them of our importance. But because the Upwork system is set up to pitch everyone against each other, there is little chance of people coming together - and they know that all too well.

[tjmisny]

This is true, but this is how all corporations work, just look at the recent union-busting efforts everywhere from Starbucks to Amazon to UPS to railroad companies.  Upwork is really no different than a corporation - they are not in business to "empower freelancers" - they are in business for themselves.  I won't be changing this opinion until we get some acknowledgement from Upper Management about our dismal experiences on the platform. 

[bluexm0]

Same experience indeed 

Most of job ads are just jokes it seems ("do me a crypto strategy that does 100% monthly") or dubbed ads (can see same ads many times) or ads with a huge connect price 

i suggest upwork to be more serious about educating / guiding clients: 

- ask them to briefly present themselves (company, startup, individual, student)

- ask them what they want to do (specs) instead of listingkills that they have no idea of.

And make it possible to filter that in the job search  

[nikhilkumar_95]

I completely agree with this. In the last 7 days, I sent 18 proposals only 2 were viewed and 0 conversions. I had only 3 profile views. Organic reach is almost 0 now. I am also looking for help.

[ce12c9e2]

No matter what the media pundits or fixed job market numbers are telling you, we are in a recession right now, so that's to be expected, UpWork is hiking service prices with us going into it, that adds fuel to the fire.