Gig Economy Statistics
Last updated: 2026-10-28 · 12 sourced statistics
How big is the gig economy? In the Federal Reserve's October 2024 survey, 20% of US adults earned money from gig activities in the prior month, but most of that was selling things. Only 9% did short-term tasks such as driving or odd jobs, and 4% arranged those tasks through an app or website. For most people gigs are a side income: 70% spent under five hours a week on them. This page brings together US, EU and global figures on platform and gig work from official and research sources, with the definitions that make them differ. Freelance workforce counts and earnings are on our sibling freelance pages.
Key takeaways
- 20% of US adults earned money from gig activities in the prior month; 4% did short tasks arranged through an app or website (Federal Reserve, 2024).
- Gigs are mostly side income: 70% of gig workers spent under five hours a week on them, and 21% called gigs their main job (Federal Reserve, 2024).
- 61% of app-based task workers wished their pay was more consistent (Federal Reserve, 2024).
- 4.3% of US workers held contingent jobs in July 2023, up from 3.8% in 2017 (BLS).
- The EU had 28.3 million platform workers in 2022, 93% of them self-employed (Council of the EU).
At a glance.
Every figure on this page in one table, each linked to its named source. Scroll down for the full context behind each number.
| Figure | What it measures | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20% | 20% of US adults performed gig activities in the prior month in 2024. Selling items was most common (13%), and most sellers said this included items they had owned for personal use, such as used clothing. | Federal Reserve Board, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2024 | 2024 |
| 4% | 9% of US adults did short-term tasks such as handyman work or driving, and 4% arranged short tasks through an app or website, such as a ride-sharing or delivery app. | Federal Reserve Board, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2024 | 2024 |
| 70% | Gig activities were rarely full-time: 70% of people doing them spent less than 5 hours a week, and only 21% reported gig activities as their main job. | Federal Reserve Board, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2024 | 2024 |
| 26% | 26% of adults ages 18 to 29 did gig activities, compared with 12% of those 60 and older. | Federal Reserve Board, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2024 | 2024 |
| 55% | 55% of gig workers said gigs let them work flexible hours (78% of those doing app-based tasks), but only 35% said gigs gave them work-life balance. | Federal Reserve Board, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2024 | 2024 |
| 61% | 31% of people doing gig activities said they would have trouble making ends meet without them, and 61% of those doing short tasks through an app or website wished the pay was more consistent. | Federal Reserve Board, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2024 | 2024 |
| 16% | 16% of US adults had ever earned money through an online gig platform, and 9% had done so in the past 12 months (survey of 10,348 adults, August 2021). | Pew Research Center, The State of Gig Work in 2021 | 2021 |
| 31% | 31% of current or recent gig platform workers said it had been their main job in the past year, and 58% said the money was essential (23%) or important (35%) for meeting basic needs. | Pew Research Center, The State of Gig Work in 2021 | 2021 |
| 4.3% | 4.3% of US workers, 6.9 million people, held contingent jobs (jobs they do not expect to last) on their main job in July 2023, up from 3.8% in May 2017. | US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Contingent and Alternative Employment Arrangements, July 2023 | 2023 |
| 154M-435M | The World Bank estimates there are between 154 million and 435 million online gig workers worldwide, 4.4% to 12.5% of the global labor force. | World Bank, Working Without Borders: The Promise and Peril of Online Gig Work (overview) | 2023 |
| 28.3M | 28.3 million people worked through digital labour platforms in the EU in 2022, similar to the 29 million employed in manufacturing. | Council of the European Union, Spotlight on digital platform workers in the EU (citing a CEPS study for the European Commission) | 2022 |
| 93% | Of the EU's 28.3 million platform workers, 93% (26.3 million) were self-employed, and about 5 million of those were likely to be incorrectly classified. | Council of the European Union, Spotlight on digital platform workers in the EU (citing a CEPS study for the European Commission) | 2022 |
The statistics
20% of US adults performed gig activities in the prior month in 2024. Selling items was most common (13%), and most sellers said this included items they had owned for personal use, such as used clothing.
Source:Federal Reserve Board, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 20242024
9% of US adults did short-term tasks such as handyman work or driving, and 4% arranged short tasks through an app or website, such as a ride-sharing or delivery app.
Source:Federal Reserve Board, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 20242024
Gig activities were rarely full-time: 70% of people doing them spent less than 5 hours a week, and only 21% reported gig activities as their main job.
Source:Federal Reserve Board, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 20242024
26% of adults ages 18 to 29 did gig activities, compared with 12% of those 60 and older.
Source:Federal Reserve Board, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 20242024
55% of gig workers said gigs let them work flexible hours (78% of those doing app-based tasks), but only 35% said gigs gave them work-life balance.
Source:Federal Reserve Board, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 20242024
31% of people doing gig activities said they would have trouble making ends meet without them, and 61% of those doing short tasks through an app or website wished the pay was more consistent.
Source:Federal Reserve Board, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 20242024
16% of US adults had ever earned money through an online gig platform, and 9% had done so in the past 12 months (survey of 10,348 adults, August 2021).
Source:Pew Research Center, The State of Gig Work in 20212021
31% of current or recent gig platform workers said it had been their main job in the past year, and 58% said the money was essential (23%) or important (35%) for meeting basic needs.
Source:Pew Research Center, The State of Gig Work in 20212021
4.3% of US workers, 6.9 million people, held contingent jobs (jobs they do not expect to last) on their main job in July 2023, up from 3.8% in May 2017.
Source:US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Contingent and Alternative Employment Arrangements, July 20232023
The World Bank estimates there are between 154 million and 435 million online gig workers worldwide, 4.4% to 12.5% of the global labor force.
Source:World Bank, Working Without Borders: The Promise and Peril of Online Gig Work (overview)2023
28.3 million people worked through digital labour platforms in the EU in 2022, similar to the 29 million employed in manufacturing.
Of the EU's 28.3 million platform workers, 93% (26.3 million) were self-employed, and about 5 million of those were likely to be incorrectly classified.
When these numbers don't apply
Aggregate statistics hide a lot. Read these caveats before quoting a figure as if it describes your specific situation.
- "Gig work" has no single definition. The Federal Reserve counts selling, renting and short-term tasks (only some through apps); Pew counts online gig platforms only; BLS counts contingent jobs people do not expect to last. Shares are not comparable across these sources.
- The Federal Reserve figures come from its Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, fielded in October 2024 and covering the prior month. The 2025 edition did not repeat the gig section.
- Pew Research Center's survey (10,348 US adults, August 23 to 29, 2021) is the most recent Pew study on gig platforms and predates later platform growth and policy changes.
- BLS collected questions on digital platform (app-based) work in July 2023 but has not yet published those estimates, so there is no official BLS count of app-based gig workers.
- Global and EU figures are model-based estimates with wide ranges. The EU's 2025 projection of 43 million is a forecast, so we do not report it as a count.
How we compiled this data
Reviewed 2026-10-28. We kept Pew Research Center's 16% figure (read via an Internet Archive copy because Pew blocks automated requests) and the BLS contingent share, updated to the exact July 2023 figure in the BLS news release. We removed an Upwork freelance count that belongs on our freelance statistics page and a vague "under-30 skew" item, replacing it with Pew's and the Federal Reserve's stated age figures. We added the Federal Reserve's 2024 gig-activity section (survey fielded October 2024, published May 2025), the World Bank's 2023 global estimate from its own overview and the Council of the EU's platform-work figures (page last reviewed February 2025). Each figure was checked against the linked page on the review date.
We hand-collected each figure from its original publisher rather than recycling secondary round-ups, cross-checked the headline numbers against the source documents in 2026-10-28, and link every statistic to the report it came from so you can verify it yourself. Where a publisher issues annual updates, we cite the report edition and flag the year inline.
Frequently asked questions
How many Americans do gig work?
It depends on what counts as a gig. 20% of US adults earned money from gig activities in the prior month in the Federal Reserve's 2024 survey, mostly by selling things. 9% did short-term tasks and 4% arranged them through an app or website. Pew found 9% had earned money on an online gig platform in the past year (2021).
Is gig work usually a full-time job?
No. 70% of people doing gig activities spent under five hours a week on them, and 21% called gigs their main job (Federal Reserve, 2024). Pew found 31% of recent platform workers said it was their main job in 2021.
Do gig workers rely on the income?
Many do. 31% said they would have trouble making ends meet without gig income (Federal Reserve, 2024), and 58% of recent platform workers called the money essential or important for basic needs (Pew, 2021). 61% of app-based task workers wished their pay was more consistent.
Who does gig work?
Younger adults most often: 26% of 18 to 29 year olds did gig activities, compared with 12% of those 60 and older (Federal Reserve, 2024).
How big is the gig economy worldwide and in the EU?
The World Bank estimates 154 million to 435 million online gig workers globally, 4.4% to 12.5% of the labor force. The EU had 28.3 million platform workers in 2022, 93% of them self-employed.
Put these figures to use
- Tax hub: Guides on self-employment tax, quarterly payments and invoice tax details.
- Quarterly tax payments for freelancers: IRS estimated tax due dates, safe harbors and the UK payments on account.
- Accounting basics every freelancer should know: Cash vs accrual, a monthly close and how much of each payment to set aside for tax.
- Payment reminder templates: Three copy-and-paste reminder emails (gentle, firm, final) for late-paying clients.
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