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The Gig Economy Workforce Will Double In Four Years (recode.net)
The number of workers in the so-called gig economy will grow substantially in the coming years, according to a study by Intuit and Emergent Research. By 2021, the study finds, 9.2 million people are going to be working the frontline jobs at companies like Uber and Lyft. That number is projected to be 4.8 million this year. From a report: The rise in on-demand workers has been fueled largely by startups like Uber, TaskRabbit and Airbnb. It has also helped companies like Intuit, which makes tax software QuickBooks and TurboTax. The company's stock surged to an all-time high yesterday thanks to the gig economy. For context, there are currently more gig workers than people employed in the entire information sector (which includes publishing, telecommunication and data processing jobs) and IT services combined, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Also read: A recent piece on The New Yorker which talks about the lengths to which people are willing to go to survive in such jobs -- a horrifying culture that is often celebrated in those companies.
Gig work is a synonym with 1099 contracting.
There are plenty of us out here (especially in IT) that make very good livings doing contract work (I call each contract I have a 'gig').
Let's face it. If you are going to go this route, you need to put on your big boy pants, and think like an adult.
If you find a contract, and can negotiate a bill rate that will cover you wages, your insurance, your retirement and give you time to take off (no work hours no pay, remember?)...then you are working a gig that can be a primary source of income.
If you are working a contract that does not give you this type of bill rate, you either figure "this is not my customer", or you are doing this just as some side money to supplment your "real job" which mostly likely could be a W2 job.
But please, lets not get the govt to throw out the baby with the bathwater, MANY people for many years, have enjoyed working 1099. You are your own boss. You decide where your retirement investments are going. YOU decide what and how much insurance you need.
To do this on a full time basis, you have to be and adult, now how to budget, put money aside for periods between contracts (sometimes you may want to take a month off)....
But please...lets keep in mind, all these people are adults, and they can and should make their own decision and live with the consequences of such.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
It will continue to rise steadily until all of a sudden, overnight, automated vehicles are approved and it crashes virtually overnight. People going into this sure as hell better have a backup plan.
Unless they decide to continue to permit their current model, where individuals purchase their own automated vehicles and register them with the service to control them. Then the owner is still responsible for maintenance and such. I wouldn't be surprised if Uber tried to do this.
The business community sells this as "being your boss" or "being in business for yourself" or whatever to sell you the idea of being an independent contractor.
Because that way they can pass on the overhead costs onto the worker as well as the business risk. See, most folks under the delusion that they'll work 40+ hours a week and there will plenty of work.
Nope.
I don't care what you do, there will be dry spells. Now, do these "gig" companies allow the worker to to work for other businesses as well at the same time? Nope.
They want you all to them lonesome selves and when the project is over, well it's out the door and tough shit if you aren't working and not getting paid. Not their problem: but god forbid if you take on a project during theirs.
See, the gig businesses want their cake and eat it too and not gain weight. They want a flexible workforce but aren't willing to compensate workers for it.
It's a raw deal for the worker. (If your are one of those lucky folks who have some sort of esoteric skilllset where you can get your $2,000/day - good for you. But the rest of us are lucky to get 30% above the market rate for salaried folks. Chump change. It should be 100%)
Oh! And health insurance. Even with Obamacare still around, getting insurance on your own still sucks.
And Uber. I have neighbor who is an Uber driver. He hates but does it because he's in his late 50s and software dev jobs just disappeared - for him. Too bad he doesn't have the skills: C#.NET - that's what they say in his rejection emails.
The Gig economy will double in four years
I.e. there will be a whole lot more unemployment in 4 years than today, and most of you won't find another job and will be forced to scrimp by on whatever money you can make doing odd jobs, cleaning toilets, driving for uber, or wiping the ass of the 1%. Enjoy your new world order.
I've been a self employed contractor for over 25 years and I recall back in 90s that the IRS used to require that you did work for more than just one company when sub contracting work, otherwise you were considered an employee if you worked exclusively for one company despite having your own insurance and tools. I made sure to sub work from several companies until I finally became a real contractor and had my own customers. How do uber and the drivers get around this? They only work for one company. Uber could end up getting fined and having to pay FICA portions of the employees wages.
Did the rules change? Is the IRS selective in what industries they police?
Stay tuned! Same bat channel, same bat time
Your entire quality of life in America is based on your job. Healthcare, time off, time for your children, pensions... There's been an understanding that if you work hard for your company they'll take care of you. Whether that was ever really true or not the good economy blows it all up.
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One of the most insightful comment in "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki was when Rich Dad said: "Why climb the corporate ladder when you can own it?"
If you're working for a corporation and expect the corporation to make you rich, you're doing it wrong.
A corporate job should pay the bills while you nurture a side business that will eventually replace your income from the corporate job. Work as an owner, not an employee.
America, unlike a lot of the rest of the first world, has tied most of the social safety net--retirement, insurance, etc-to private employers instead of the state for the past few decades.
Setting aside any discussion of whether this is a good or bad way to do things, a dramatic shift from a employer-based workforce to a gig-based workforce without a commensurate redirection of the safety net is cause for considerable concern.
The gig economy doesn't pay well enough to make up the difference in lost benefits for the worker. That's one of the big reasons employers like it--it's a lot cheaper. This is gonna kick us in the teeth as a country as gig workers start to age, get hurt, get sick, and need care.
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