Week of January 6, 2019 — 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
Deliveroo and Uber Eats face questions over its riders trading jobs in black market
An investigation by The Sunday Times has found that jobs are traded online and some may be taken by people who do not pay tax or national insurance as they may not have the right to work in the UK. Workers at Deliveroo and Uber Eats who have passed vetting checks are offering their jobs online.
The company’s representative responded to The Sunday Times: “I can assure you we are taking this very seriously as this activity is clearly not legal and ramifications for us are also very serious.”
If this issue is not addressed properly, it could lead to major lost in trust and raise safety concern for the consumers. More than 500,000 people deliver takeaway food in the UK in a market worth more than £4bn a year.
PayActiv partners up with Uber for Business
PayActiv integrates with Uber for Business to provide an innovative method to access Uber service. Rides are now available to the many who were unable to access Uber service due to lack of liquidity and or banking status. PayActiv users can access their already earned wages and directly pay for Uber rides from within the PayActiv platform.
“PayActiv is in the business of freeing employees’ hard-earned income. The integration between PayActiv and Uber platforms keeps employees and business progressing with security, dignity, and lots of savings,” said Sohail Aslam, Co-founder and CTO of PayActiv.
Trends in the Labour Market
The gig economy didn’t deliver
Two experts on the “gig economy” now say the Great Recession made them overestimate its growth, said Josh Zumbrun at The Wall Street Journal.
Economists Alan Kreuger and Lawrence Katz said in a 2015 study that a growing number of people “cobbling together a living from odd jobs, especially via apps like Uber, would upend traditional work arrangements.”
That didn’t happen. The predictions were driven off base by a downturn in which workers sought odd jobs to make ends meet. Then “as the economy returned to normal, they returned to more familiar work arrangements.”
The researchers also blame spotty data from the Labor Department, which had “repeatedly sought, but been denied, funding for a survey that examined contingent and alternative workers.
By the way, if you are interested in how much extra money you can make with each of the gig economy companies in all sectors. Check out this cool info-graphics.
Thank you for reading! :)
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