As the labor market and the gig economy evolves, we could see wild fluctuations in macro-level statistics, which leave us with little insight on what's happening or projected on a more refined level.Ī better approach would be to focus more on the distinctions between full-time and part-time workers, temporary and permanent work arrangements, and specific gig economy industries. It also doesn't mean a large portion will be doing it through an online platform or that we'll reach 50% at all. workers freelancing or participating in the gig economy within 10 years, it doesn't mean a large portion of them will be doing so as a primary or permanent source of income. Thus, while studies project that we could see as much as 50% of U.S. Given the sudden market shifts triggered by companies such as Uber, the numbers are also highly volatile and subject to misunderstanding and misinterpretation. If we’re blending together Uber drivers, Airbnb hosts, and TaskRabbit workers, along with self-employed consultants and professional experts, we end up with potentially skewed statistics and misleading indicators. This points to a fundamental problem with analyzing and understanding the gig economy, which is separating temporary, short-term gig work from the entirely different notion of independent and self-employed workers making their living through online platforms.Ĭurrent studies and projections rely on varying definitions of the gig economy and gig workers, and they often highlight overall figures that don't sufficiently distinguish between types of workers and their level of engagement with the gig economy. In addition, Uber’s chief economist, Jonathan Hall, says the company’s decision to increase fares helped drivers initially earn more money, but it also attracted more drivers and reduced the number of trips consumers made.Īll of this, combined with a labor market with historically low unemployment, has added up to drivers on the Uber platform driving for fewer than 10 hours a week according to the company’s data. Thus, there’s much more competition among drivers. How do we make sense of these seemingly contradictory trends?įor one, Uber says its number of drivers has leaped from 160,000 in 2014 to 900,000 currently. In fact, drivers for companies such as Uber and Lyft are typically working fewer hours now and taking home less pay per month, although the work they do has grown to dominate the gig economy. In contrast, selling items through online websites such as eBay and Etsy, which comprised 72 percent of all gig work in 2013, has sunk to just 19 percent.However, among drivers, online income now makes up just 26 percent of total annual earnings, down from nearly 52 percent in 2013. Overall, both sets of statistics seem to contradict the prevalence and projected growth of the gig economy reported in other industry surveys, some of which we’ve highlighted previously.īut the discrepancies point to the fundamental challenge of quantifying and understanding what’s actually happening in the gig economy, particularly when statistics are dramatically shaped by fast-moving trends.įor example, the JPMorgan Institute found that transportation is increasingly dominating the gig economy, with 56 percent of all gig work now comprised of driving. Bureau of Labor Statistics found in its own study that only 1.6 million workers, or 1.0 percent of employed individuals, perform electronically mediated work, such as short jobs or tasks they find through websites or mobile apps that connect them with customers. To further deflate the gig economy's purported size, the U.S. Gig workers may also be performing gig work mostly as a short-term source of income, perhaps while transitioning between traditional jobs. These figures suggest the gig economy may be smaller than previously estimated, and it may even be shrinking. Additionally, the study found that most Americans who earn income through online platforms do so for only a few months each year. One of JPMorgan Chase’s biggest findings was that pay for gig workers has dropped over the past two years, and those workers are earning a growing share of their income elsewhere. But the figures also reveal why there is so much confusion and misunderstanding about the gig economy and its future. Data from the two studies calls into question the growth and proliferation of the gig economy. Bureau of Labor Statistics have inspired an array of headlines and articles claiming the gig economy may not be the future of the workforce after all. Two recent studies by JPMorgan Chase and the U.S.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |