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  5. Contractors and Gig Workers: New Evidence from Improved Surveys
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Contractors and Gig Workers: New Evidence from Improved Surveys

Paper Session

Friday, Jan. 5, 2024 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM (CST)

Grand Hyatt, Crockett C/D
Hosted By: Labor and Employment Relations Association
  • Chair: Brad Hershbein, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research

The Independent Contractor Workforce: New Evidence on Its Size and Composition and Ways to Improve Its Measurement in Household Surveys

Katharine G. Abraham
,
University of Maryland
Brad Hershbein
,
W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
Susan Houseman
,
W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
Beth C. Truesdale
,
W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research

Abstract

Good data on the size and composition of the independent contractor workforce are elusive, with household survey and administrative tax data often disagreeing on levels and trends. We carried out a series of focus groups to learn how self-employed independent contractors speak about their work. Based on these findings, we designed and fielded a large-scale telephone survey to elicit more accurate and complete information on independent contractors, including those who may be coded incorrectly as employees in conventional household survey data and those who are independent contractors in a secondary work activity. We find that, upon probing, roughly one in 10 workers who initially reports working for an employer on one or more jobs (and thus is coded as an employee) is in fact an independent contractor on at least one of those jobs. Incorporating these miscoded workers into estimates of work arrangement on the main job nearly doubles the share who are independent contractors, to about 15 percent of all workers. Young workers, less-educated workers, workers of color, multiple-job holders, and those with low hours are more likely to be miscoded. Taking these workers into account substantively changes the demographic profile of the independent contractor workforce. Our research indicates that probing in household surveys to clarify a worker’s employment arrangement and identify all low-hours work is critical for accurately measuring independent contractor work.

Understanding Non-Traditional Work Arrangements in the United States

Joelle Abramowitz
,
University of Michigan
Andrew Joung
,
University of Michigan

Abstract

This paper examines non-traditional work arrangements in the United States over 1997-2019 using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), a longitudinal biennial survey that has included over 10,000 families and 24,000 individuals. We use machine learning to leverage internal data collected in the PSID on respondent narratives on industry and type of work as well as respondents’ employer names. The approach classifies work arrangements into several categories including informal self-employment, formal self-employment, business ownership, and wage and salaried employment. Preliminary findings show disparate trends in the share of workers engaging in different types of self-employment work arrangements that would otherwise be masked. We find that, between 2003 and 2019, total self-employment rose but that this trend varied by type of self-employment. The share of workers in formal self-employment fell, but an increasing share of workers found work as business owners or through informal self-employment, though with different patterns. For business owners, a marked increase following the Great Recession has subsequently nearly returned to pre-recession levels, while informal self-employment has increased steadily since 2011. Further results suggest that, compared to those in other work arrangements, the informal self-employed generally tend to be less educated, are less likely to be male and non-Hispanic White, have less labor income, and have worse measures of wellbeing. Our findings also suggest that a slightly more male, and substantially more racially and ethnically diverse population has entered platform gig work.

Characteristics of Gig Workers in the U.S.: Evidence from the Entrepreneurship in the Population Survey

Rachel M. Brooks Atkins
,
St. John's University
Quentin Brummet
,
University of Chicago-NORC
Katie Johnson
,
University of Chicago-NORC

Abstract

This paper presents new results from the Entrepreneurship in the Population (EPOP) Survey, a new nationally representative survey of entrepreneurship and gig work activities across the U.S. In addition to a series of questions on the pathways to entrepreneurship, the survey collects information from all respondents on current work activities and whether respondents are part of the “gig economy.” Importantly, in addition to asking about general involvement in gig work, respondents are also asked more specifics about the name of the gig work platform and whether the platform is an online app. Using responses, our analysis provides a variety of measures of gig work in the U.S. For example, using the broadest measure of gig work that asks respondents if they engage in work that uses a platform to coordinate payment, 18.91% of respondents report that they engage in gig work. Using a more restrictive definition that limits gig workers to only respondents using an online platform app, we estimate 7.12%of individuals are engaged in gig work. Regardless of definition, respondents report that flexibility and supplementing pay are important reasons for engaging in gig work. We conclude with discussing future directions for the research and other potential uses of EPOP data.

Discussant(s)
Dmitri K. Koustas
,
University of Chicago
JEL Classifications
  • C8 - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs
  • C3 - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables