In our field, there are more people to work and less people to give work. There is a clear mismatch of demand and supply, that's the problem with web industry and it will remain so in next few years.
I recently took over a writing business and my priority has been to increase what we pay writers. It's not easy as raising the prices to clients is a gamble, but TBH I really dislike the idea that quality writing is something anyone who is literate can do. I don't know how things got to be like that, but I don't plan on contributing to the myth any more than I can help. I spend a little time looking for a good accountant, dentist, hairdresser, car mechanic etc, then I stick with them. Sometimes I get freebies or discounts, but mostly I pay for a trustworthy and reliable experience. It's time writers/all creative people got the same kind of respect.
Myself as a website owner, i have previously hired some technical writer to produce good content for my sites. And lately i have to cut all of them, due to slower market trend, higher cost, poor work quality, and some SEO problem with GOOGLE. Yes, they are no longer preferring content and very strict with duplicate or doorway penalty. Meaning having more content is toxic for the site. That is what i am facing right now, and i have no choice but to cut down on works and reducing the freelancer works. That is the trend i am seeing now.
Yes. It was, but Today I'm busy with my new task. I have to do it within tomorrow. So I came here for learning more things and reducing my extra tension. After complete that task I'll comeback again. Bye........
Definitely there is more competition in freelance market than it was 2-3 years ago and it will only increase. Speaking about 2007 when I started freelancing, I have also been paid $5/hr for data entry tasks. But, it will be hard to get this rate in today's time because of competition. But, if you provide quality work you don't need to under sell your services. You need to provide excellence and extra ordinary service to be able to win bids. You need to evolve to get more skills that are not very common and you can get higher rates for those. Good Luck