Who Counts? Counting Workers in the Gig Economy

The last time the BLS, which is the official counter of all things work-related, surveyed the "contingent" workforce was in 2005.* This year they will do so again. A lot has changed since 2005, and we expect there to be a very different result this year. 

Dr. Groshen explained why it has been so hard to count workers in this new economy, and what that means for how we think about economic policy.

* "Some people call jobs like these “gigs,” much like the Saturday night gigs your high school garage band played. At BLS we call these contingent or alternative employment arrangements. What do we mean by those terms? Contingent workers do not expect their jobs to last, or their jobs are temporary. Workers with alternative employment arrangements include independent contractors, on-call workers, or people who work through temporary help agencies or contract firms." - Bureau of Labor Statistics