Gigs That Give: How App-Based Platforms Strengthen the Labor Market

Gigs That Give: How App-Based Platforms Strengthen the Labor Market

Anna Rue
Anna Rue

I personally guarantee that we will honestly and decently do our job!

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The Flex Association commissioned PPG to examine whether app-based delivery and rideshare work opportunities act.

The Flex Association commissioned PPG to examine whether app-based delivery and rideshare work opportunities act      as a complement to traditional government safety net programs — in particular, unemployment insurance — and to quantify the resulting savings for U.S. taxpayers. To estimate those savings, we combined an original national survey of around 1,200 app-based workers with proprietary data from five of the largest U.S. app-based platforms, government datasets, and a complete review of the academic literature.

Key findings

App-based work acts as a financial buffer

  • 1 in 3 people on these platforms had been laid off from a traditional job and now replace some or all of that lost income through app-based earnings
  • Among households hit by a layoff, 1 in 2 credit app-based work directly for reducing or eliminating their reliance on government benefits

App-based work doesn’t just help workers — it saves taxpayers money

  • Taxpayers benefit from $10.5–15.1 billion in fiscal savings over ten years due to reduced reliance of app-based workers on unemployment insurance
  • This amounts to $0.92–1.3 billion per year in taxpayer savings, or $3,500–4,100 per unemployment insurance recipient

App-based work offers dignity, not just dollars

  • 1 in 3 app-based workers turn to this flexible work because caregiving or family obligations mean they can’t work a traditional job schedule
    • 72% feel more financially secure because of app-based work
    • 61% say they prefer to earn their own income even if government benefits are available
    • 86% of those who have debt say app-based work has improved their ability to repay that debt

       

 

Media coverage of our report

“No, gig work isn’t driving poverty — it’s saving taxpayers billions”

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