A Study on relationship between unemployment and rise of the Gig Economy

Abstract

Everyone is talking about the “gig economy”, and a growing number of people work in it. The term may seem like something new, but it really isn’t. Before apps brought the idea of on-demand services and gig work to everybody’s phone, the gig economy was often referred to as the freelance economy, agile workforce, or even temporary work. The basic understanding is that people may have a side hustle these days. Or that people have quit their high-powered day jobs for gig economy jobs that pay just as well but with less stress. And, while some people have successfully transitioned from ‘9-to-5ers’ to ‘giggers’, the truth is, the gig economy isn’t just on-demand work. The situation in the last one year has resulted in a great degree of job losses and unemployment across industries and sectors, forcing people to take up ‘gigs’ as a source of income. This is a deviation from the traditional job market which had a greater emphasis on a stable source of income/ job market. Gig economy is anything but stable, owing to its nature, and it is here to stay. With growing importance and growth of the gig economy, along with the growing literature surrounding it, this research paper contributes towards a conceptual understanding of how this is a source of influence in today’s generation of workforce. The study begins by exploring the attributes and mechanism of a gig economy. Further, it aims to establish a relationship between the level of unemployment in the job market and the transition of workforce towards the gig economy. It also delineates avenues for further research regarding the future of gig economy and whether such an economy is sustainable in the long run, and not just a reactionary impact of the pandemic.