For all the attention lavished on Uber, Lyft, and countless other on-demand services, it’s still hard to determine the real impact of these services on the labor force—and the economy as a whole. But the American Action Forum, a center-right think tank, released research today that suggests that the gig economy is growing apace and playing a significant role in the US economy.
According to the AAF’s report, the number of jobs in the gig economy grew between 9 and 14 percent from 2002 to 2014. (The report notes that this is slightly more than the percentage growth of overall employment, which grew around 7 percent.) This refers to nontraditional jobs taken by independent contractors, temps, or freelancers.
Independent contractors alone accounted for nearly 29 percent of all the jobs added between 2010 and 2014, the AAF says. And when the policy group looked at ridesharing startups, like Uber and Lyft, it found that those jobs have helped bring in an additional $519 million of economic activity between 2009 and 2013.
All of which sounds pretty great. But labor advocates have argued that bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better if workers aren’t fully protected, face anxieties about work stability, or lack benefits they deserve.
In California, Uber is fighting a lawsuit that claims its workers should be considered employees rather than independent contractors. Homejoy, an on-demand cleaning service that recently shut down, faced concerns from workers about the lack of benefits. And, dealing with similar issues, other on-demand startups, like Instacart, are beginning to offer contractors the option of becoming part-time employees.
