The gig economy has ushered in a new way of connecting people with consumers and those that want to hire them.
A new Pew Research Centre report finds that 16% of Americans have ever earned money through an online gig platform in at least one of six ways measured in the survey.
To better understand the experiences of people who take on work through online gig platforms, the survey asked about six types of online gig platform work: driving for a ride-hailing app; shopping for or delivering groceries or household items; performing household tasks like cleaning someone’s home or assembling furniture, or running errands like picking up dry cleaning; making deliveries from a restaurant or store for a delivery app; using a personal vehicle to deliver packages to others via a mobile app or website such as Amazon Flex; or doing something else along these lines.
The new report, based on a survey of 10 348 US adults conducted from 23 to 29 August on the Centre’s American Trends Panel, finds that earning money through these apps or websites varies by a number of factors – most notably by age, race and ethnicity, and household income.
Three-in-ten 18- to 29-year-olds have ever earned money through an online gig platform, but that share drops to 18% among those ages 30 to 49 and is even smaller for those ages 50 and older.
Additionally, Hispanic adults stand out for participating in the gig labor force: 30% have ever earned money in this way, compared with 20% of Black adults, 19% of Asian adults and 12% of White adults. And Americans with lower incomes are more likely than those with middle or upper incomes to have ever earned money through these kinds of sites or apps.
Some Americans have completed work via these gig platforms in the past year: In the August survey, 4% said they were doing these types of jobs at the time, while an additional 5% said they are not currently doing this but have done so in the past year. In total, 9% of US adults reported that they are current or recent gig workers, meaning they have earned money through an online gig platform in the past 12 months.
Beyond the makeup of this workforce, the survey also highlights a variety of ways that different people rely on online gig jobs and integrate them into their lives. Among current or recent gig workers, more say the work is something they do on the side rather than their primary way of earning a living. And relatively few people who have taken on this work over the past year (8%) report putting in more than 30 hours during a typical week.
Still, there is a notable segment who have more fully incorporated these jobs into their work lives: 31% of current or recent gig workers – representing 3% of all US adults – say this has been their main job over the past 12 months.
At the same time, some gig workers are more financially dependent on this income than others. Among current or recent gig workers, roughly six-in-ten say the money they earned through these platforms over the past 12 months has been essential (23%) or important (35%) for meeting their basic needs, while 39% say the income has been nice to have, but not needed.
Other key findings include:
* Some Americans have completed work via these gig platforms in the past year: In the August survey, 4% said they were doing these types of jobs at the time, while an additional 5% said they are not currently doing this but have done so in the past year. In total, 9% of US adults reported that they are current or recent gig workers, meaning they have earned money through an online gig platform in the past 12 months.
* Beyond the makeup of this workforce, the survey also highlights a variety of ways that different people rely on online gig jobs and integrate them into their lives. Among current or recent gig workers, more say the work is something they do on the side rather than their primary way of earning a living. And relatively few people who have taken on this work over the past year (8%) report putting in more than 30 hours during a typical week. Still, there is a notable segment who have more fully incorporated these jobs into their work lives: 31% of current or recent gig workers – representing 3% of all US adults – say this has been their main job over the past 12 months.
* At the same time, some gig workers are more financially dependent on this income than others. Among current or recent gig workers, roughly six-in-10 say the money they earned through these platforms over the past 12 months has been essential (23%) or important (35%) for meeting their basic needs, while 39% say the income has been nice to have, but not needed.
The survey also found the following:
* Finances and flexibility are key reasons people did gig platform work over the past year. When asked why they are drawn to these jobs, about half or more of current or recent gig workers cite wanting to save up extra money (56%) or needing to cover gaps or changes in their income (52%) as major reasons for taking on these jobs over the past 12 months. The ability to set their own hours also ranks highly among those who have earned money via gig jobs in the past year: 49% say being able to control their own schedule is a major reason why they have taken on these jobs over the past year. Smaller shares cite wanting to be their own boss, doing this for fun or to have something to do in their spare time, or not having many other job opportunities in their area as major reasons why they have earned money through these platforms in the past year.
* Motivations for taking on gig platform jobs vary between those who rely heavily on the money they earn through these platforms and those who do not. Current or recent gig workers who describe the money they earn through these jobs as essential or important are more likely than those who are less financially reliant on these jobs to cite covering gaps or changes in their income (61% versus 38%), wanting to be their own boss (44% versus 22%) or not having other job opportunities in their area (34% versus 21%) as major reasons for doing this work in the past 12 months.
* About two-thirds of current or recent gig platform workers think companies that run these platforms are fair when it comes to their pay, but smaller shares say the same for benefits. When it comes to perceptions of fairness, 72% of current or recent gig workers say the companies that run these apps or sites have been at least somewhat fair when it comes to how their jobs are assigned, while 64% say the same about their pay. By comparison, these workers are more critical of the way companies have handled their benefits. Nearly half of recent or current gig workers (46%) say companies have been unfair when it comes to their benefits, while half believe they have been fair.
* Some gig platform workers report harassment, safety and Covid-19 concerns. Some 37% of those who have ever earned money in this way say they have been treated rudely at least sometimes while doing these jobs. A similar share (35%) say they have often or sometimes felt unsafe while completing these jobs. And about one-in-five say they have often (7%) or sometimes (12%) experienced unwanted sexual advances while completing jobs. Additionally, about half of current or recent gig workers say they have been very (15%) or somewhat (36%) concerned about getting the coronavirus while completing these jobs in the past year.
* There are racial and ethnic differences in the shares of gig workers who report feeling unsafe or experiencing unwanted sexual advances on the job at least sometimes. Among gig workers who identify as Black, Asian, Hispanic, some other race, or multiple races, 41% say they have at least sometimes felt unsafe while completing these jobs, compared with 28% of White gig workers.. And 24% of non-White gig platform workers say they have at least sometimes experienced unwanted sexual advances while doing these jobs, compared with 13% of their White counterparts. Non-White gig workers are also more likely to report being concerned about getting the coronavirus while completing jobs over the past year: 38% of current or recent White gig workers say they have been at least somewhat concerned in the past 12 months about getting the coronavirus while working these jobs, but that share rises to 59% among those who are non-White. (Some of the groups that make up the non-White category among gig workers could not be analysed separately due to sample size limitations.)
* Majority of Americans say ride-hailing drivers are most appropriately described as independent contractors, not employees. Fully 62% of all US adults say the most appropriate way to describe ride-hailing drivers is as independent contractors providing a service on behalf of the apps or websites. Smaller shares (35%) say these drivers are best described as employees who work directly for these platforms. Gig platform workers’ self-perceptions follow a similar pattern – 65% see themselves as independent contractors, while 28% view themselves as employees.
* Some 57% of Americans say drivers for ride-hailing apps should have more legal protections from being mistreated by their companies while 38% say these drivers have enough legal protections to ensure these companies treat them fairly. At the same time, half of US adults (53%) do not support changes in government regulation – .they say the government should regulate companies that offer ride-hailing apps such as Uber or Lyft the same as they are now. Some 28% favour more regulation, while 15% say they should be regulated less than they are currently.