AFP, Washington :
More than 42 million Americans are part of the independent workforce, representing a shift away from traditional jobs as more people join sectors such as the “on-demand” economy, a study showed Tuesday.
The study by MBO Partners covers a variety of professions, but a growing portion of those are made up of young workers taking “gigs” with startups such as ride-sharing giant Uber or delivery services like Instacart.
The number earning a substantial part of their income from independent work was estimated at 30.2 million in 2015 — 17.8 million full-time and 12.4 million part-time.
The survey found another 11.9 million Americans are “occasional independents,” bringing the total number to 42.1 million.
The total includes many traditionally independent workers including accountants, doctors and real estate agents.
But much of the growth is coming from “sharing economy” platforms that allow people to work flexible hours, said Gene Zaino, founder and chief executive of MBO, which provides services to independent workers.
“We think most of the occasional independents work in the sharing economy, along with a large number of the part-timers,” Zaino told AFP.
While the study does not break down sectors, Zaino said anecdotal evidence suggests “more than a third” of the total number of independents work in the on-demand economy.
The 2015 numbers are little-changed from 2014 — probably because some independents are moving to traditional jobs as the labor market firms-but have grown considerably since the survey began in 2011, MBO said.
The trend toward on-demand jobs has sparked concern that these workers lack the traditional social safety net of conventional employees, such as employer-paid health insurance, sick leave and disability coverage.
Roughly six in 10 said that working independently was their choice entirely and nearly 80 percent of the independents said they were happier working, the consultancy found.
Some 45 percent said they believed they made more money working on their own than they would in a traditional job.
Those working independently were split on whether the lifestyle carries more risks — 48 percent said being independent carries more risks than traditional employment, and 32 percent said the risks were roughly equal.
More than 42 million Americans are part of the independent workforce, representing a shift away from traditional jobs as more people join sectors such as the “on-demand” economy, a study showed Tuesday.
The study by MBO Partners covers a variety of professions, but a growing portion of those are made up of young workers taking “gigs” with startups such as ride-sharing giant Uber or delivery services like Instacart.
The number earning a substantial part of their income from independent work was estimated at 30.2 million in 2015 — 17.8 million full-time and 12.4 million part-time.
The survey found another 11.9 million Americans are “occasional independents,” bringing the total number to 42.1 million.
The total includes many traditionally independent workers including accountants, doctors and real estate agents.
But much of the growth is coming from “sharing economy” platforms that allow people to work flexible hours, said Gene Zaino, founder and chief executive of MBO, which provides services to independent workers.
“We think most of the occasional independents work in the sharing economy, along with a large number of the part-timers,” Zaino told AFP.
While the study does not break down sectors, Zaino said anecdotal evidence suggests “more than a third” of the total number of independents work in the on-demand economy.
The 2015 numbers are little-changed from 2014 — probably because some independents are moving to traditional jobs as the labor market firms-but have grown considerably since the survey began in 2011, MBO said.
The trend toward on-demand jobs has sparked concern that these workers lack the traditional social safety net of conventional employees, such as employer-paid health insurance, sick leave and disability coverage.
Roughly six in 10 said that working independently was their choice entirely and nearly 80 percent of the independents said they were happier working, the consultancy found.
Some 45 percent said they believed they made more money working on their own than they would in a traditional job.
Those working independently were split on whether the lifestyle carries more risks — 48 percent said being independent carries more risks than traditional employment, and 32 percent said the risks were roughly equal.
