Staffing Industry Analysts presented the findings of a research report that shows that 29% of all US workers were contingent workers in 2015. Staffing Industry Analysts reports:
Contingent workers represented 29% of all US workers last year, or 44 million people, according to new research by Staffing Industry Analysts. And the contingent workers represented $792.4 billion in staffing buyer spend.
Staffing Industry Analysts’ definition of contingent workers includes more than just temporary workers sourced through staffing firms. Of the 29% of US workers identified as contingent workers, they include:
- Temporary workers assigned through staffing firms, 6.2%
- Human cloud workers, 6.4%
- Independent contractor/self-employed with no employees, 15.5%
- Temporary employees sourced directly without the use of a staffing firm, 3.6%
- Statement-of-work consultants employed by a consulting firm, 1.9%
The term contingent work and “gig work” are used synonymously by Staffing Industry Analysts instead of a more narrow definition of gig work that includes only limited duration tasks facilitated by an online platform. Staffing Industry Analysts describes the latter as “human cloud workers.” As a note, Staffing Industry Analysts’ definition excludes firms such as Airbnb and Zipcar that are part of the “sharing economy” but not part of the gig economy.
Read the full story at SIA estimates ‘gig workforce’ at 29% of US workers
