Gig economy

[3] According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, the digital platforms or marketplaces connect individual service providers directly to customers for a fee.

[4] The BBC presented the following definition for the term: "a labour market characterised by the prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work, as opposed to permanent jobs".

The corporate entities are often able provide a different type of service or product because the gig business model does not burden them with costs such as sick leave and health insurance benefits as well as office space, equipment and training.

[2] In the design industry, gig workers are increasingly seeking legal protections around intellectual property (IP) and contract terms.

[3][9] A study completed in 2016 by Lawrence Katz and Alan Krueger showed an increase in gig workers, freelancers, and independent contractors of 50 percent between 2005 and 2015.

[14] At about the same time the Government Accountability Office stated that the definition and the data source variations support claims from below 5% to over one-third of the labor force engage in non-traditional employment.

[12] As of November 2022 the 10 largest gig economy companies by market capitalization included Intuit (tax preparation software), PayPal (online payments), Airbnb, (hosting marketplace), Uber (ride-sharing) and Shopify (e-commerce).