Gig workers are living on the financial edge

their main source of income, and more than half of these people would have a hard time affording an unexpected $400 expense, the report showed.

“A decade after the Great Recession, financial fragility and economic insecurity remain concerns for many households,” Fed researchers said. “The adults engaged in gig activities are a segment of the population that may be experiencing heightened financial fragility.”

Piece work

Americans between 18-27 years of age having a gig job with lower educations are more likely to rely on such work, Fed researchers found. Among those with a high-school degree or less, 14 per cent depend on it for at least half their income. The proportion is 8 per cent for those with a bachelor’s degree or higher.

About one-quarter of gig workers use alternative financial services such as payday loans. That compares with 16 per cent of workers in traditional work arrangements.

Gig work also skews young, with about 37 per cent of those ages 18 to 29 having a gig job, but only about one-fifth of those age 60 or older participating in the industry.

The Fed’s definition of gig work is broader than recent research that suggests this type of work has declined. The Labour Department reported last year that only 10 per cent of Americans in 2017 were involved in alternative work arrangements, down from nearly 11 per cent in 2005. The Fed’s survey showed that only 3 per cent of gig workers used the internet to get this work, which would include apps such as Uber.

“Gig work — on its own —is not a uniform sign of financial fragility,” according to the report. But it adds that “doing gig activities to earn money, in particular as a primary source of income, is associated with more fragility.”