Insecure gig economy work more than doubles in five years

Gig economy workers now represent 15 per cent of the total workforce in England and Wales.

Photo by Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Approximately 4.4 million people across England and Wales are now employed in insecure platform work, or the “gig economy”, according to a report by the Trades Union Congress.

Gig economy workers now represent 15 per cent of the total workforce in England, up from 12 per cent in 2019, and just 6 per cent in 2016. This number has more than doubled in the last five years.

The report, which highlights the importance of trade unions accommodating gig workers and helping them counter potentially exploitative environments, notes that the number of people doing platform work across England and Wales is greater than one in five, at 22.6 per cent.

Platform worker is a catch-all term for a variety of work, be it delivery, household services, errands or online work.

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