The gig economy was on the rise before the pandemic drove many to independent work. However, experts warn there are major pitfalls to relying solely on gigs.
Rutgers professor Carl Van Horn, who serves as director of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, says gig work is great for some but it’s not the ideal situation for many others. He explains the downside of gig work.
“Well, it’s a real tale of two cities. On the one hand some of those gig workers — think of uber and Lyft drivers etc — their work plummeted but those jobs didn’t disappear entirely. But they certainly plummeted. On the other hand, there was an uptick in these kinds of jobs for people delivering groceries and take out food so it’s not been consistent. It depends on what area of the economy you were in. We saw that there was a push toward the gig economy before COVID.”