Almost half of creative freelancers in Wales polled in a new Cultural Freelancers Wales study revealed that they lost 80 per cent of their work or more in 2021. The study revealed the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, whilst also warning that 2022 is likely to be another “tumultuous and difficult” year for creative freelancers.
The report was entitled Road to Recovery? and follows a similar study conducted in 2020 amongst creative freelancers in Wales. The report polled 186 freelancers in the creative industries, whilst also factoring in responses given by 250 freelancers in focus groups.
92 per cent of respondents said that work had been negatively impacted by COVID-19 in 2021, with 49 per cent saying that had lost at least 80 per cent of their work last year. The average amount of work lost was 71 per cent, with an average income loss of 59 per cent. However, this represented an improvement on 2020, in which the average income loss stood at 76 per cent.
Average annual income among respondents was slightly over £17,000, with 63 per cent saying they earned less than £20,000 during 2021. 91 per cent of respondents said they had applied for help through a government support scheme.
84 per cent of respondents reported that their mental well-being had been negatively affected in 2021. 23 per cent said they were uncertain about whether they would remain in the cultural sector, but this was again an improvement from 2020, when 33 per cent said they were uncertain.
The report asserted that low pay indicates the pandemic has exacerbated existing issues and added that freelancers do not enjoy the same prospects for career progression as permanent employees.
The report included a number of recommendations, including diversifying the digital skills of freelancers, ensuring equitable distribution of funding throughout Wales, increased reporting on race and gender-based pay gaps and more Welsh-language work. Other recommendations include urging employers to engage new contractors in order to broaden their talent pool and the introduction of cancellation contracts covering COVID-related disruption for freelancers.
Theatre organisations, meanwhile, are urged to appoint two or more freelancers to their boards by August this year and for boards to receive training on the contribution freelancers make to the sector.
