Photo: VCG

Wuhan-based freelance portrait photographer, Liu Wei, has not had an income source this year due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. 

Liu has lived and worked in Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic, for years. 

If not for the virus, Liu would be busy taking portraits of his clients amid an approaching flower season as temperatures during this time begin to rise.  

So far for 2020, Liu has yet to receive any 600-yuan ($85.5) portrait orders, making it hard for the 24-year-old to survive.

A hard time for most

As many as 400 million people will engage in freelance work by 2036, accounting for half of China's labor force, according to an estimate from the Ali Research Institute affiliated with e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Although rapidly expanding, the self-employed demographic, with its relatively unstable income, is financially vulnerable to unexpected problems like COVID-19, observers said.

Many freelancers told the Global Times they are experiencing difficulties. 

Chen Ke, in Changzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, also works as a freelance portrait photographer and said she has suffered significant losses due to the epidemic. 

Although the situation in Chen's city is less severe than Liu's in Wuhan, client revenue has dropped 70 percent year-on-year. 

The prolonged work delays caused by the epidemic have left many people short of money, Chen said. "As a result, some of them have reduced spending on non-essential things like taking portraits," Chen told the Global Times.

Xiao Qing (pseudonym) faces a greater financial burden. After working in the home party business in Shanghai for nearly eight years, this is the first time that all 15 places she rents as party venues have been empty for over one month as the city has discouraged gatherings in its fight against the virus.

"But I still have to pay rent," Xiao sighed, adding that the total monthly rent of her 15 villas is over 400,000 yuan.

Freelance translator Zhu Ling, by contrast, is one of the lucky few who have hardly been affected by the epidemic. 

Keeping translating materials at her home in Shanghai for various companies, Zhu has been busier than usual and receives epidemic-related documents to translate, such as mask-wearing tips for employees.

Oral interpreters have remained at home after local events scheduled in March were canceled, Zhu said. "Some of them are swift to written translations instead while others have given themselves an unpaid vacation," she added.

Turns less attractive

Different from older generations who prefer "iron rice bowl" careers, which refers to jobs with stable income and benefits, freelancing was ideal for young Chinese as it offered greater flexibility and freedom prior to the outbreak.  

According to a survey conducted by PayPal in 2018, 85 percent of Chinese freelancers were aged below 40. Among the freelancers surveyed, 97 percent held a positive attitude on being self-employed. 

Nonetheless, freelancing has become less attractive amid the epidemic as many don't enjoy fixed salaries or government-related support policies unlike company employees.

A few regional governments have already said their subsidies and preferential policies do not cover freelancers. In Zhuzhou of Central China's Hunan Province, local authorities said on its government website on Wednesday that local freelancers would have to pay their endowment insurance fees at the normal rate.

Similarly, freelancers in Dongyang, Zhejiang Province, are unable to enjoy transport and living subsidies the government offers to local employees during the virus, said Dongyang human resources and social security authority.

Facing increasing financial pressure, some freelancers may turn to office jobs after the epidemic.

Liu spent one year working for a surveying and mapping company before he became a freelance photographer. He said he may go back to the company in the near future, taking portraits on the weekends as an avocation instead of a full-time job.

"Only a stable salary can afford my mortgage payments," Liu told the Global Times.