As more and more people rethink the traditional career ladder and in-office 9 to 5 jobs, many are also reconsidering the wisdom of relying on a sole source of income. Welcome to the gig economy, a bustling and growing arena that offers workers with sellable skills flexibility, control and variety.
The projected gross volume of the gig economy in the US has been on a steady rise over the last six years, more than doubling from $204 billion in 2018 to $455.2 billion in 2023, according to Statista.
The pandemic, the so-called “Great Resignation” and a surge in the availability and accessibility of app gigs are three factors fueling the rise, according to Rafael Espinal, executive director of the New York-based Freelancers Union, a national nonprofit formed in 1995 to provide education, advocacy and tools to independent workers. The Union almost doubled its membership post-pandemic, from around 400,000 members after its first 25 years, to nearly 750,000 just four years later.
“The pandemic left millions of people unemployed and gave a lot of folks the opportunity to rethink how they want to create an income for themselves, and because of that, we have seen an increase in folks turning to freelance work” or rethinking how and where they wanted to work, Espinal explains.
With so many people opting to either supplement traditional jobs or go wholly independent, what does the future hold for the gig economy?
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