Part 2 of new Legal & General Study on U.S. gig economy workers reveals a vast array of pay scales and industries

• 60% of survey respondents earn their living solely in the Gig Economy
• 49% make at least 60% of their living in gig work earning under $50K/year
• 23% of gig workers earn between $100K and $4 million per year

 A new segment of a broad new study sponsored by Legal & General Group, U.S. Gig Economy, Part 2: The Gig Economy Represents a Vast Range of Industries and Fields, was released today, continuing the exploration into the changing nature of work in the U.S., people’s relationship to it, and what employers should be thinking about. Part 2 of the study seeks to define what constitutes a gig worker and looks into the several dozen industries and the many models and levels of pay comprising the U.S. Gig Economy.

The second segment of the data-rich study, The Gig Economy Represents a Vast Range of Industries and Fields, examines the demographics of the American gig working population through the lens of those making more than 60 percent of their income through gig work, who are neither retired nor a student—including breakdowns by gender, geography, education, whether single or in a relationship, pay level and frequency, and tenure in working independently. The range of work fields identified in the study points to the multifaceted professional lives of this group, as well as getting a better understanding of their personas and what drives them to work in the gig economy.  

Legal & General’s study looks at the complex and multifaceted societal and financial factors behind this wave of independent work are, propelled by positive incentives, insecurities and anxieties, and above all the desire for freedom and flexibility. The gig economy has its drawbacks, notably around financial

security and, often, lack of access to basic health and social needs. Future segments will look in depth at how gig work is expressed as a choice; the fierce independent-mindedness of gig workers; the extent to which gig workers meet their health and life insurance needs; similarly with their retirement needs; what it would take to get gig workers to go back to “the office”; and the pandemic fallout for gig workers.