Freelancer Compass: IT sector with 23 percent order decline

The tense situation on the IT job market is also hitting freelancers hard: in the IT and software sector, 23 percent of freelancers report a noticeable decline in demand. This is shown by the first survey wave for the Freelancer Compass 2026 from freelancermap, for which more than 1,300 self-employed individuals were surveyed.

Overall, 43 percent of all surveyed freelancers currently have no secure workload for the coming months. Half also state that the order situation has worsened compared to the previous year. Only 16 percent report an improvement. The figures align with the picture shown by data from the Federal Employment Agency: unemployment in the IT sector has risen significantly.

The situation is particularly dramatic in the automotive industry, where 32 percent of freelancers are experiencing order declines. This is followed by IT and software with 23 percent, and industry, mechanical engineering, and banking and finance with 12 percent each. The workload figures illustrate the uncertainty: twelve percent have a secure order situation for only up to one month, one in five for two to three months, and 13 percent for four to six months.

"When orders are declining in so many sectors and almost half of freelancers have no planning security, it's no longer an individual risk but a structural one," says Thomas Maas, CEO of freelancermap. Sectoral declines, short workload horizons, and operational hurdles in projects are interacting and affecting not only individuals but shaping the entire market.

Unclear requirements and delayed decisions

In daily project work, freelancers struggle with several difficulties: the most frequently mentioned are unclear requirements (55 percent), followed by delayed feedback (47 percent) and a lack of decisions (42 percent). The clients are predominantly larger companies: 60 percent work with medium-sized businesses, 58 percent with corporations, 27 percent with agencies and consultancies, and 21 percent with start-ups.

The vast majority of freelancers (71 percent) work from home, 22 percent hybrid. Only one in twenty works on-site at the client's premises, and two percent are on a workation. The option to work remotely is a deal-breaker for almost half (49 percent) when selecting projects.

Declining demands for hourly rates

The difficult order situation apparently leads freelancers to make concessions in their demands. While freelancers still reject projects due to low hourly rates most frequently (70 percent), this percentage has decreased compared to the previous year's survey (77 percent). 62 percent cite that the project does not fit their skills as a reason for rejection.

This development contrasts with the recently increased average hourly rates, which were 104 euros according to the Freelancer Compass 2025. The proportion of those who reject projects due to capacity constraints has also decreased from 43 to 23 percent – a clear sign of declining demand. Rejecting projects due to a long commute is now only a consideration for 18 percent, compared to almost one in three last year.

The complete Freelancer Compass 2026 will be published in early March and will summarize all survey waves. For over ten years, the study has provided the most comprehensive data basis for self-employment in German-speaking countries and examines working conditions, price and income developments, as well as professional and structural challenges. Details on the surveys can be found at freelancermap, and the results of the first survey are available at iX.

(fo)