Week of December 23, 2018 — This Week in the Gig Economy
In this publication of This Week in the Gig Economy, we’re covering topics ranging from the large trends in the Global Labour Market and the latest developments with large gig economy companies. Without further ado:
Gig Economy Development
TaskRabbit expands its reach in the UK.
IKEA owned company which connects residents with local ‘taskers’ has launched in six more cities in the UK. This more than doubles the number of cities the company serves in the England and Wales. The new areas are Brighton, Cardiff, Coventry, Liverpool & Warrington, Oxford and Reading. The company is expected to announce its expansion in Scotland in early 2019.
Labour Market Update
Recession is on its way — How will the gig economy react?
On one hand, the gig economy has been booming during this economic expansion of nearly a decade. Investors are on a lookout for the Uber and Lyft IPO in early 2019, with Airbnb and Instacart to follow. On the other hand, it seems like we are headed towards another recession. How will the gig economy react in this mist of all this?
“run for cover.” Alan Greenspan recent warning to the investors.
Even though, some experts say that recession could go in favor of the gig world as more and more people will see it as a necessity to pick up gigs and make extra income. Adam Roseman, Co-founder and CEO of Steady has different views. He says that the recession, which brings both layoffs and wage cuts, would increase the supply of workers even further with fewers gigs to pick up.
In a nutshell, there’s no doubt a recession will leave more people looking for gig work, it could also deflate the gig economy.
Feel free to read his full analysis here.
America is running low on blue-collar workers
The U.S. is currently dealing with a very tight labor market. And blue-collar jobs, in particular, are experiencing an acute worker shortage.
Conference Board Chief Economist Gad Levanon told Yahoo Finance that there are “three big trends happening simultaneously” causing the relatively shrinking pool of workers: Demographics, education, and continued demand for services.
“The baby boom generation is much larger than the generations before and after,” Levanon said of the demographic aspect. “Now is the time they are retiring in large numbers.”
In terms of education, blue-collar labor markets are tight is because more and more Americans are going to college. Since the Financial Crisis, “the share of 23- to 24-year-olds with a bachelor’s degree has been rising sharply,” the Conference Board reported. Those with a bachelor’s degree are less likely to pursue a blue-collar career.
“To put it bluntly,” the Conference Board stated, “there are simply not enough people in the labor force willing to work in blue-collar jobs.”
Feel free to watch the full interview here. :)
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