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Data for today’s episode is provided by Mercator Advisory Group’s viewpoint – Payments for Work in the U.S. Gig Economy
How many Gig Economy workers are there?
- According to US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 16.8% of workers are gig workers
- BLS defines Gig Workers to include both Continent Workers & Workers in Alternative Employment Arrangements
- However, the BLS misses an important sub-segment: workers with a ‘side hustle’
- A whole new tax form, the 1099 Nonemployee Compensation form, will likely debut in 2020 to cover gig work
- The Gallup org. estimates that 36% of the US population, 56 million individuals, do ‘nontraditional work’
- Of the 56 million gig workers, 29% or 45 million use a gig job as their full-time job
- Interestingly, the digital platforms commonly associated with gig work (Uber, Lyft, etc) account for only 7%, 11 million, gig workers
About the Viewpoint
The gig economy encompasses a growing percentage of the U.S. population and shows no sign of retreating.
From the casual “side hustle” to freelance work that represents a worker’s sole source of income, the gig economy is presenting some interesting challenges and opportunities for banking and payment providers.