Let’s Create An Economic Infrastructure For The Gig Economy
Written by Jasmin Sethi and published in Forbes.
When this crisis is studied from the lens of economic history, we will learn more about the winners and losers. Surely, though, we have good reason to know already that a significant group of losers have been gig economy workers.
Who Are They?
No one knows how to accurately count gig economy workers; the US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated them at 21 million in 2017. The problem is that we do not even have a consistent definition of the term. Are they full-time freelancers or do we include people who work as a W-2 employee part of the time and drive for Uber UBER -1.4% or run an Airbnb during the rest of their work time? What about traditional freelancers – those who have been around since before Uber and DoorDash and the myriad of other gig companies – like architects, dentists, computer programmers, and realtors? That is why estimates range so widely. US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates about 15 million higher earning self-employed and potentially an additional 21 million contingent workers. The Freelancers Union estimates a total population of 57 million freelancers in 2019. Analysis of the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) shows 13% of households have a worker who qualifies as one of the following: self-employed, consultant, or partners at a law, dental or medical partnership.
