AFP, Washington :
Nearly one-fourth of American adults have earned money recently using online commerce platforms for “gigs” or to sell goods, a survey showed Thursday.
The Pew Research Center found eight percent of US adults earned money in the last year performing tasks like driving for a ride-hailing app or making deliveries, while 18 percent took in cash by selling something online. And one percent rented their property on a home-sharing site.
Taken together, Pew found 24 percent of Americans have engaged in at least one of these activities on digital platforms in the last year.
“These findings highlight the great diversity of experiences within the gig economy, and also illustrate the extent to which these services are blurring the boundaries between formal and informal employment,” said Aaron Smith, the lead author of the Pew report.
“A slight majority of these workers rely heavily on the income they earn from these platforms, and use them for largely financial reasons. But a substantial minority views this work much more as a hobby-or simply a way to pass the time-as opposed to a true ‘job’ or a dedicated source of income.”
The report noted a growing movement toward these services, which “allow people to work or otherwise make money at the time of their choosing, using whatever resources they have available.”
The survey found five percent of Americans have used platforms to seek out tasks performed entirely online, such as taking surveys or doing data entry, while two percent have driven for ride-hailing services.
Another one percent took in cash by shopping for or delivering household items, or by cleaning or doing laundry using an online service and two percent used them for other types of work, ranging from relatively simple physical tasks to complex and highly technical white-collar employment, Pew said.
Gig economy work was especially common among younger adults, with 16 percent of 18- to-29 year olds making money from one of these platforms in the last year.
It is also more common among blacks (14 percent) and Latinos (11 percent) than among whites (five percent).
Nearly one-fourth of American adults have earned money recently using online commerce platforms for “gigs” or to sell goods, a survey showed Thursday.
The Pew Research Center found eight percent of US adults earned money in the last year performing tasks like driving for a ride-hailing app or making deliveries, while 18 percent took in cash by selling something online. And one percent rented their property on a home-sharing site.
Taken together, Pew found 24 percent of Americans have engaged in at least one of these activities on digital platforms in the last year.
“These findings highlight the great diversity of experiences within the gig economy, and also illustrate the extent to which these services are blurring the boundaries between formal and informal employment,” said Aaron Smith, the lead author of the Pew report.
“A slight majority of these workers rely heavily on the income they earn from these platforms, and use them for largely financial reasons. But a substantial minority views this work much more as a hobby-or simply a way to pass the time-as opposed to a true ‘job’ or a dedicated source of income.”
The report noted a growing movement toward these services, which “allow people to work or otherwise make money at the time of their choosing, using whatever resources they have available.”
The survey found five percent of Americans have used platforms to seek out tasks performed entirely online, such as taking surveys or doing data entry, while two percent have driven for ride-hailing services.
Another one percent took in cash by shopping for or delivering household items, or by cleaning or doing laundry using an online service and two percent used them for other types of work, ranging from relatively simple physical tasks to complex and highly technical white-collar employment, Pew said.
Gig economy work was especially common among younger adults, with 16 percent of 18- to-29 year olds making money from one of these platforms in the last year.
It is also more common among blacks (14 percent) and Latinos (11 percent) than among whites (five percent).
