We’re headed for a gig economy boom, but is it sustainable? While companies like Uber, Postmates, Lyft and the like promise income with a flexibility and freedom that eludes many of us working regular 9-to-5 jobs, data from Intuit indicates that the issue is more complicated than companies make it out to be.
In a new report, Intuit interviewed more than 4,500 people who find work through Uber, Upwork, Wonolo, MBOPartners, OnForce, Work Market, Visually, HourlyNerd, Fiverr, Deliv and Field Nation.
Responses showed that most on-demand workers spend more than 40 hours per week working, with 12 hours devoted to their “primary on-demand job.” The average worker relies on three different streams of income to make ends meet, with a third of workers listing on-demand work as their top source of income.
Why do workers choose on-demand? Money is the simple answer: 65 percent of workers say they do on-demand as supplemental income. 46 percent say they like the flexibility and control of the schedule.
The amount of income made by an on-demand worker varies significantly, with the lowest hourly rate reported at $12 and the highest at $96. An average of 22 percent of household income is estimated to come from on-demand work.
