Enterprises TV Reports on the Status of the Gig Economy

The gig economy, or those who work freelance or contract jobs, is a growing work trend in the United States. It is also hard to measure how many American workers are gig jobs rather than full-time, in-house positions. Enterprises TV takes time to report on the topic.

A recent survey found that there are perhaps 45 million people or more that take part in the gig economy. While it is also relayed to as the “sharing economy”, it is often challenging, at best, to get accurate figures on how many people are true contractors, true gig workers and true temporary workers. Most contractors and temps do work under contract with job guidelines and workforce protection, and a reliable source of income, the gig worker can be left in the cold.

Small, at-home businesses can be unreliable when it comes to paying the gig worker. There are no employment contracts and no guarantee that the worker will get a check in the mail for work completed. The Enterprises TVshow suggests those who take gig work request a contract indicating job duties, pay dates, rate and manner of pay. There are many one-person “businesses” that seem to use the gig worker’s content without sending a single dime for the completed work.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office reported that the contingent or gig workforce might range from five percent to possibly more than a third of the nation’s labor pool depending on how jobs are defined. Gig workers add value to the workforce. It’s time they were counted in the labor pool and given the protections needed.