Abraham on gig-economy
Kristin Sandusky, writing for the News for Monmouth County, reports how gig-enabling technologies are impacting economic growth. The most common example of the so-called “gig economy” are ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft. Based upon data published by the U.S. Census Bureau, the nonemployer numbers display a surprisingly increase in the number of self-employed taxi drivers. Based on demographics, the identified self-employed taxi drivers used to be mostly male and foreign-born with almost no wage and salary job back in 2013. Nowadays, taxi drivers tend to be more likely females and less likely foreign-born with a wage and salary job. Analysis made by Faculty Associate Katherine Abraham and her colleagues from the Census Bureau concluded that “All of this suggests that the rapid growth of ridesharing apps on smartphones has led to a dramatic growth in the number of self-employed persons driving on a part-time basis.” In the light of the technology, the researchers added, “This is a prime example of technology lowering the barriers to entry and affecting how individuals earn money in the labor market.”