A Quarz article reports that almost all US jobs created between 2005 and 2015 were temporary. Paul Krueger notes, that of the 10 million net jobs created over that period, 94% were in the alternative work category, and most of the increases came from independent contractors, freelancers, and contract company workers. This tremendous growth of the gig economy (at 0.5% and growing) came as a surprise to researchers, as there had been almost no growth over the period from 1995 to 2005.
The work environment is definitely changing, not only in America, but all over the world. The typical 9-to-5 full-time job may be on the way out. Technology and globalism have brought down geographic barriers, allowing people to work and collaborate with anyone from around the world with very little overhead. In addition, the sharing economy (ex. Uber, AirBnB) has made it possible for people to perform side hustles to generate additional income. This general shift has allowed people to quit their full time careers and shift to a career that provides flexibility over the hours and place(s) they work. The gig cconomy has also allowed for those that have been out of the workforce to re-join (ex. stay-at-home moms/dads who value flexibility, but who wish to start/re-start their careers).
With the coming shift, freelancers and independent contractors need more mechanisms to maintain similar (if not equivalent) benefits that full-time employment provides. In addition, gig workers would like to have additional measures of “stability” that full-time workers currently enjoy, such as the steady paycheck.
As the gig economy grows in the US, the hope is that the government will modify laws to account for this growing class of worker (from a benefits perspective). From an income stability perspective, a wider array of options for gigs will arise (along with better mechanisms for lead generation, etc), so that workers can focus on performing the job instead of spending most of their time looking for jobs.
At GigLabs, we believe that a world where people can work where and when they want will be a better one. We look to enable this dream through our blockchain-based gig economy platform. If you would like to embark on this mission with us, please sign up for our newsletter and become part of our early community!
