Remember when I spoke about the gig economy? Citing the work of Alan Krueger and Lawrence Katz, among others?
Well, Krueger and Katz have basically just recanted their study. They originally claimed that the gig economy would be the future of work; that people would work multiple jobs and make a living. (Not sure if living meant they considered subsistence wages as a “living”.)
Why did they recant? Because, first of all, given the Great Recession, folks were out of work and desperate for anything to make some money. But, once the economy began seeming almost normal, folks abandoned those “gigs” for the more conventional work offerings.
They also realized that my logic- that the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) does an abysmal job accounting for people with multiple “gigs” or jobs- was the correct analysis. As I stated in my analysis of the gig economy…
Consider the defining question the Bureau of Labor Statistics asked: What is your primary job? Which means that if Frank works for BoringAsHeck, Inc. for 40 hours and then sells sports equipment on eBay and Amazon for 18 hours a week, he is considered to be a full-time employee when analyzed by the government. Or, if Rose is a secretary for Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe for forty hours, but drives for Lyft for another 20, she, too, is a full-time (not gig) employee. And, there’s Hiram, who is a subcontractor for a government contractor (aka, a Beltway Bandit), and is paid as an independent contractor. But, since Hiram. Is under contract to Beltway Bandit, he, too, is not considered to be a gig employee.
So, when Krueger and Katz did their analysis, they ended up overstating the effects of Uber. Which back when they did their research, was attracting folks up the ying-yang seeking more income. And, Uber fit the bill. So, the “who’s working where” question got skewed answers. Instead of the gig economy accommodating 5% of all workers, once all the avenues were examined, the results were closer to 1% or 2%.
Moreover, Krueger-Katz did not include spousal employment (or not) as part of their analysis.
Which still leads to the same conclusion I derived- despite the Krueger-Katz, Upwork, and BLS (incorrect) pronouncements.
That we Chem E’s have been trained to study complex situations. And, every analysis demands that we define our basis and assumptions. And, that’s why Uber, Lyft, and the trucking firms (who have elected to progressively attenuate their wages to abysmally low levels, forcing folks to work for multiple employers) rendered the “employment” situation in the transportation sector to appear as if there was a 50% increase in independent contractors. But, really nowhere else in the economy except for Christmas retail operations is ‘gig’ the king. Or queen.
I see your point! Well, it was good of them to recant once they realized they were wrong.
But, they set many other researchers off on the wrong path.
Still all for the ‘gig’ economy.
“all” what, Jessica?
Interesting, well thought out and articulated. I’m not sure I’d want to work multiple jobs if I was in the workforce unless the goal was to quit the workforce sooner. My illogical mind enjoyed your superb logic.
Thanks so much for your comment, Nita!
I wish you could solve the government shutdown. We could all use some clear thinking right now. For whatever it is worth, the couple of people I know who participate in the “gig” economy are trying to supplement full time jobs that don’t pay enough for them to live on.
Alana recently posted..The Great Molasses Flood
It only takes common sense to solve the government shutdown. A quality lacking in the petulant one- and many of our elected representatives.
I agree with your assessment of the gig economy. It’s only a trend if it’s not just a gig- but a business.
Very interest blog. I like the company names that Frank, Rose and Hiram work for.
Glad to give you some extra enjoyment, Martha!
I vehemently disagree. “Gig” is also queen of the giant pop-up Halloween stores that show up where all the Targets used to be before they failed out of Canada. That and grocery deliveries.
All jokes aside, Uber turned out to be a racist, misogynist dumpster fire that treats workers awfully – gig OR permanent. I wonder if the gig economy would have fared better with a less exploitative poster child setting the standard for “best” practices.
I never considered Uber to the the king or queen of gig. Most of what I have seen have been ‘solopreneurs’ attempting to make money on the side. (This is one of the reasons the US Government overstates the number of small businesses in the US. These solopreneurs who gross 10K or less- often with losses [which, by the way, the new tax forbids deducting from one’s income] are not really a small business.
I am wondering if there is a way to look at figures for teachers quitting their jobs to compare with a blog post by Jojo Reyes on trends in Britain.
That would require me to know about this. I couldn’t even find one article about Reyes and teachers.
This article is fantastic and i got some good information by reading this.
thanks a lot.
Thanks, Kavleen, for your comment- and your visit!