A good number of Americans are making money from this certain platform...
washington — Nearly one-fourth of American adults have earned money recently using online commerce platforms for “gigs” or to sell goods, a survey showed.
The Pew Research Center found eight per cent of US adults earned money in the last year performing tasks like driving for a ride-hailing app or making deliveries, while 18 per cent took in cash by selling something online. And one per cent rented their property on a home-sharing site.
Taken together, Pew found 24 per cent 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 per cent of Americans have used platforms to seek out tasks performed entirely online, such as taking surveys or doing data entry, while two per cent have driven for ride-hailing services.
Another one per cent took in cash by shopping for or delivering household items, or by cleaning or doing laundry using an online service and two per cent used them for other types of work, ranging from relatively simple physical tasks to complex and highly technical whitecollar employment, Pew said.
Gig economy work was especially common among younger adults, with 16 per cent of 18- to 29-yearolds making money from one of these platforms in the last year.
It is also more common among blacks (14 per cent) and Latinos (11 per cent) than among whites
24% engaged in at least one digital platform activity 18% took cash by selling something online
(five per cent). Pew found 23 per cent using digital platforms to find work are currently enrolled as students. But 44 per cent said they were employed full-time and 24 per cent working part-time, with 32 per cent saying they were otherwise unemployed.
Nearly one-third said the money they make in these activities is essential to meeting their basic needs while 42 per cent said they could get by comfortably without it.
For online selling on platforms like eBay or Etsy, 14 per cent of those surveyed said they were getting rid of their own used goods, while two per cent sold hand-made items and another two per cent consumer goods. —