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.

Comments

Re:It ISN"T a real, primary job people...

[fightinfilipino]

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.

the problem is that economic conditions are now forcing people to MAKE this their full time job. and severe cuts to healthcare and the general safety net are tightening the screws, not to mention the steamroller of automation coming down the pike. 1099 work might have been fine at one point, but it is NOW becoming a capitalists' wet dream and a regular worker's worst nightmare.

Alternative-factoid Newspeak

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

The Problem

[American AC in Paris]

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.