Part 7 of Legal & General’s U.S. Gig Economy Study measures Covid’s impact on independent workers’ earnings amid emerging work models

• 43% of gig workers reported earnings declined due to the pandemic; half of these were already in the lowest income segment
• Impact on earnings differed widely by geography, with Texas and Colorado showing biggest decreases
• 1/3 of gig workers said that the pandemic and current economic headwinds had little impact on earnings while 27% said their income increased

New York, NY, June 8, 2023 — The seventh segment of a broad new study sponsored by Legal & General Group (LGEN, LGNNY), Covid’s impact on gig worker earnings shapes evolving work models was released today. With the recently signed debt limit bill clawing back almost $30 billion of unspent Covid funding debt and against a backdrop of projections suggesting that economic headwinds could cause 3.2 million layoffs in the U.S., this report examines the resilience of independent workers during the pandemic, and their capacity to emerge stronger during economic disruptions such as Covid or periods of recession. 

This seventh part in the data-rich study found that under a third (27 percent) benefited while over a third (43 percent) reported that their income declined; the remaining third did not think they either gained or lost economic traction during the two-and-a half-year period. These numbers skewed significantly when put through a filter of high or low wage earners, with many more independent workers in the highest earnings segment (42 percent for those earning more than $200K annually) reporting earnings increases. Few gig workers—only 1 in 10—said that the pandemic was a catalyst for them to join the gig economy or had accelerated such a move.

The study measured such specifics as:

• How women freelancers fared and how their chosen fields helped inform this
• How gig working parents (both male and female) were impacted, versus non-parents
• Breakdown of increases vs. decreases by generation (millennials & Gen Z, Gen X, and Boomers)
• Differing impacts on earnings across the 12 most populous U.S. states
• Expectations of income changes during the next 12 months

Pros and cons of pandemic isolation vs. work-from-home 

Legal & General’s study also looks at the multifaceted societal factors leading to the impacts of Covid-19 on gig workers, including the isolation many reported feeling. Despite inequities and income loss, overall, the pandemic may have represented more continuity than departure for the Gig Economy: 13 percent selected “having a pandemic-ready work life already in place before March 2020” as one of the best things about gig work.

The final segment of this research will summarize the steps employers would likely need to take to get gig workers back into the traditional workplace—or to try it out for the first time.