The rise of firms like Uber, Lyft, TaskRabbit, and Airbnb have startled many economists. The number of people working for these firms has risen drastically. This is the reason that many economists have gone overboard. Many of them claim that the gig economy is the way workforce will be employed in the future. They are of the opinion that the gig economy will replace the existing employment contracts that are currently used all over the world.

It may be tempting to think that the gig economy will grow so big that it will consume the actual economy. However, the numbers suggest otherwise. For instance, even after all these unicorns, the gig economy currently employs close to 1% of the total workforce in America. That is still a minuscule number given the fact that over 85% of Americans are still employed with traditional contracts.

Temporary Work

Studies conducted into the nature of the gig economy have made another interesting revelation. Most people that work in the gig economy view it as temporary work. More than 50% of the workers in the gig economy only work less than three months in the year! Therefore the gig economy does not comprise of jobs which employees want to take on for the long term. These are jobs which people take when they want immediate cash. For instance, these jobs are taken by people who are currently between jobs or want to work part-time since they are still in college. Hence, the gig economy will always only be a small subsection of the total economy.

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