On-call workers expanded from 1.7 percent to 2.6 percent of the workforce.5 Over this same period, technological platforms have emerged that are transforming the way people identify, schedule, and engage in contingent work and are also helping people to monetize their assets to generate income. These developments, under the rubric of the “gig,” “ondemand,” “platform,” or “sharing” economy, have the potential to be transformative.
Although the data are still relatively sparse, it appears that the number of workers using online platforms to secure gigs is still small but is growing quickly. 6 Katz and Krueger found that workers who provide services through three online intermediaries accounted for only 0.5 percent of all workers in 2015.