NEW REPORT: From Margins To Mainstream, Gig Economy Redefines The Workforce

Gigging Out

With gig employees estimated to draw over $711 billion in income this year, the gig economy isn’t an emerging phenomenon anymore — it has become the new norm for the global workforce.

And merchants across the spectrum are coming up with creative ways to use it to their own advantage. Walmart, for instance, is now competing with Amazon by offering its workers side gigs of delivering packages to customers on their daily commutes.

Similarly, Iceland Air now pairs its willing employees with enthusiastic travelers looking to explore and experience Iceland like a local through its Stopover Buddy program.

Meanwhile, more and more gig workers are focusing on keeping a single ad hoc job. In Q2 2017, 35 percent of gig workers supported themselves through a single gig, up from 27 percent in Q1 2017, according to the latest PYMNTS Gig Economy Index, a Hyperwallet collaboration. Making extra cash, the hot-off-the-presses Index finds, is the single biggest factor motivating gig workers.

The Index also takes a deep dive into the life of gig workers at four big gig employers — Uber, Lyft, Airbnb and Manpower — and looks at the companies’ hiring patterns and payment strategy.

Some other key takeaways from the latest edition of the Index:

– 44 percent of respondents receive 40 percent or more of their income from gig economy jobs.

– 35 percent of gig workers support themselves through a single gig.

– 69 percent would not quit their gig for a full-time job.

Gig Economy Powers Growing Demand for Experiences

The PYMNTS.com Gig Economy Index also features an interview with Craig Follett, CEO of Universe.com. PYMNTS caught up with Follett to talk about the changing state of the gig economy and to discuss how gig workers are increasingly becoming the force powering the fast-ballooning sharing economy.

To download the PYMNTS.com Gig Economy Index, a Hyperwallet collaboration, please fill out the form below.

About the Index

The PYMNTS.com Gig Economy Index, a Hyperwallet collaboration, is designed to better understand workers in the gig economy — people who often work in short-term, ad hoc positions — who they are, what services they supply and what percentage of their overall income the gigs represent.