Hearing the term Gig Economy caught my attention recently. I hadn’t given it much thought, but it’s a big part of what we do as consultants in the employment agency industry. Where did this word concert originate? Musicians refer to their paid gigs as gigs and really cool people refer to their gigs as gigs. Put another way, the term “gigging” means having a paid job or being employed.
Nowadays, a gig could be a temporary job in terms of length of employment. In the employment industry, we often refer to these assignments as temporary or contract assignments, since they are usually for a defined period of time. Gigs can be full-time working hours and other times they are part-time hours.
Well, with our robust economy sitting at 4.0% unemployment, does it seem like all is well as far as finding work is concerned? Many economists believe that these figures are misleading. Many do not feel the feeling of prosperity and this leads to the need to take on extra work. [or two] by millions of Americans just to make ends meet. Looking at the data, we know that people tend to change jobs multiple times throughout their working lives and the gig economy can be seen as an evolution of that trend.
In the employment industry, we know that 1 in 5 workers in the workforce is contingent or flexible hourly work. Many professionals are choosing contract employment because of flexible work hours, work-life balance, or a way to stay engaged in the workforce while keeping their technical and people skills sharp. While employment numbers count on W-2 statements, these employees could be working part-time or working on this assignment until a better opportunity presents itself. There are approximately 6 million people [4% of labor force] that make up the US contingent workforce as these numbers have not been tracked in recent years.
Capturing the gig economy is important when working to understand employment numbers. Many employers are choosing a casual workforce as they look for ways to remain competitive while controlling labor costs and expenses. When seasonal or marketing fluctuations affect sales companies, know that a casual workforce allows them to remain flexible and profitable.
“The gig economy is not new; people have always worked in gigs… but today, when most people refer to the ‘gig economy’, they are specifically referring to the new types of technology-enabled jobs like Uber, Pinot’s Palette, Airbnb, etc.
Businesses should know that the growth of the gig economy is a worldwide trend and this trend shows no signs of slowing down. People are looking for ways to find balance in their lives while supporting their families. Sometimes that requires a second job. When looking at these freelancers, companies should know that these numbers are expected to rise from 4 million to over 9 million by 2021.
Savvy companies know that a flexible workforce makes business sense.