That probably depends on the country you live in. There is also very little unemployment in the Netherlands, even though it was predicted because of Corona.

Same in Canada, businesses are closing because they can't find employees, and salaries are going up way too fast...
[/quote]

I have a question, I am also from Canada, Ontario Canada and the media keep running these stories about businesses not being able to find workers, "no one wants to work" they say, and and yet so many of us can't find jobs, every homeless shelter in Ontario is full, I am one of those desperately looking for work as I am going bankrupt after sales ended at Pond5 this fall and didn't come back and probably aren't coming back.

I am one of those people who will do "anything I can do" as long as my health permits and in fact do enjoy the variety of work, I love driving, I used to do building maintenance and cleaning, I love cars and trucks, painting, hardware store like Canadian Tire or Home depot?, totally could do that,  I'm good at hardware tech but don't have a related degree but "anything I can do" and I can start tomorrow because stock video is ending if it hasn't ended already, it's literally a ticket to bankruptcy.

As the hosts of the local Italian radio program here say when they give advise to those who can't find work, "As long you're doing something, anything you do you do it". and that's me.

I actually started looking for new work in May 2021 and now desperately looking as stock is dead.  "Employers can't find workers"?, I can start tomorrow yet I can't find a job, no one will hire me, everyone wants "experience", 3-5 years experience, 3-5 management references, a work history with at least 5 employers on it and no gaps in employment, one of them had a requirement that applicants had have been on or a captain of a varsity sports team when in school.....that was for a car wash and detailing job a car rental place, I play Pok�mon GO but that's eSports and didn't count.

My background for the last 12 years is not the mafia but media, stock media,  clean police and driving record as well but I have been a stock video producer which is self-employment and part of the gig economy, self employment is the kiss of death is seems.

Most of the times I don't hear back when I apply, I've worn the paint off the keyboard on my laptop this summer applying for jobs but when I go in person and the few interviews I've had these are some of the excuses I get,  "This job isn't for you", "we don't think you're a culture fit", "you can do something better than this", "most of our crew is Indian and you wouldn't fit in", "you should stay in your field there's lots of money in photography".

And then there's my past, again, media, not mafia but I've gotten multiple times from the fast food places, grocery stores and Walmart, "we need 3-5 employment references" and we need a continuous employment history without any gaps.

And so I asked one time when they said that,  would you hire a food delivery or uber driver who is looking for a career change? and the instant answer was no, we need a more traditional employment history with references not any form of self-employment, you can't be one of the references.

If you listen to the Canadian and US media you would think there is a shortage of workers or something, if there is then what are people doing to earn a living and pay these rents that have gone to the moon?.

I listen to an Italian radio program here every weekend in my town and the two hosts like to chat between songs a lot and they're always giving advice to people both young and not so young on the right attitude when it comes to jobs and how hard it is to find a job and all that matters is "you are doing something, anything you can do as long as you're going something", "doesn't have to be in your field right away just anything you can do you do it, as long as you're working".

I supposed my favorite job would be driving but I'd be just as happy cleaning hotel rooms or vacuuming floors.
[/quote]

I live in Quebec and was offered a lot of work that I don't have any experience or formation for: road traffic signaler, convoy escort driver, project manager assistant. Restaurants here are closing on week-end because they lack employees (Tim Hortons, Thai Express). Almost every store I go have job offers on their front door...

Quote from: Zero Talent on December 06, 2021, 09:55

Quote from: Brasilnut on December 05, 2021, 07:17

For the sake of balance, if you mention 7cent sales I feel I have an obligation to also mention the huge sales that may occur at Alamy. Two of my examples from the 8 months. $250+ gross each x 40% for the net.

For the "sake of balance", you should say the same thing about those 10 cents from SS. 

My average sale at SS this year has been 58cents/download, which isn't great. 2020 was only slightly better at 59cents/download.

2017, 2018 and 2019 were my peaks at an average of 74-72cents/download.

Not looking great for the long-run for average download commissions.

My average sale at SS this year has been 52cents/download, which isn't great also . 2020 was  much better at 98cents/download and 2019 93 cents/download

I got 5 of them.

Also "for the sake of balance", for this month, my SS RPD is 17% better than Alamy.
Way to go, Alamy! 

Pond5 for photos? I sell like 10 photos per year there. You can also get high earning sales at Alamy, they are becoming less frequent though.

Sadly, photo sales have always been pretty slow on P5, they used to talk about starting their photo promotion push, but I haven't heard anything about that in ages, and sales seem if anything even slower this year although nowhere near the drop it sounds like video sales have made.

I also got 9 of those $0.04 sales at Alamy today. They should put a floor on the amount the so called distributors can sell for. ($0.15 sale price, I get a whopping 27% rounded up).  That brings my RPD for the month down to $2.96. Definitely in the microstock range level.

I have tied the total number of sales for the year with my previous best year, 2012, but the total $ images sold for was beat 6 other years, and I am sure that the amount I actually get out of these sales is even less compared to previous years. 

5 more here

So far I've received 81 of these sales that result in $0.04 payment. That makes SS $0.10 seem good.

They provide very few sales other than these dirt cheap ones, normally less than 20 and they're not at the level they once were either. I stopped submitting to them regularly some time ago but this is close to seeing me pull my work from them.

what?
14 RF sales to China in highest resolution for 0.15$ gross?
Are you kidding me, Alamy?

Ten sales today in China for 15c, all vectors, when I signed up to sell vectors on this site they assured me that they would sell for $30.00 each.

They have over the last five or so years renaged on this contract, dropping the price over and over again, tell they have reached rock bottom of 15c.

Alamy used to give it's profits to Charity, but since it has sold it's soul to PA Media Group (which really is the Daily Mail newspaper, owned by Viscount Rothermere a notorious tax avoiding family, he and his father have never paid any tax in the UK, his father was a well known supporter of Adolf Hitler). I write this, so you know the type of people and the context of the situation.

What is basically going on is exploitation, personally I'm never uploading to them again.

The Microstock market is a money grab by the wealthy, one has to ask one self, don't these people have enough already?

I'm moving in to different creative markets and leaving Microstock behind, after 12 years of designing, illustrating and photographing along with thousands of hours keywording and uploading, I will just leave my portfolios to run their course and then when they stop making money, I will delete them, with the exception of Adobe.

Anyone who is sane will do the same.



 

Seems to be the "new Alamy"...
My last four sales : Summary for 01 December 2021 to 31 December 2021 ( 4 item(s) totalling $0.96 )

Three sales for 0.15 and one sale 0.51

I left Shutterstock when they started the 0.10 sales and now Alamy is following them....

That's terrible and an insult, maybe time to start taking away my images. When they cut to 20% in July there's no reason to stay. Maybe there's no reason now?

Some of the Alamy believers were grasping at straws suggesting they were "Novel Use" sales... well, I'm opted out of that little gem of a system so it can't be that... and if it is, they're selling my work there without authorisation. No, this is just Alamy hitting a new low!