Beyond Gig Work: Public Markets for Irregular Employment

“’Gig work’…[refers to] workers deployed, and paid, as required rather than having steady hours and earnings” (p.1). “Across retail, construction, household services, hospitality, healthcare and other sectors there is a shift to workers summoned, and managed, very precisely by computer systems. This has fragmented the demand for labor” (p.1). “Seventeen percent of corporate employees have fluctuating schedules. They share the challenges of ‘gig workers’ (people selling odd hours to multiple employers). Some gig work is arranged through high profile platforms like Uber, TaskRabbit, or DoorDash. But the majority is arranged offline, usually for payment under the table” (p.1). “Typically these workers have scant benefits with little chance of progression or skill-building. High churn and low quality hurt employers in need of responsive staffing, which stalls economic growth” (p.1).

To better understand the gig economy and support its workers, the authors convened “a Design Group of [25] Workforce Development Boards (WDBs). Through stakeholder roundtables, regular conference calls and repeated iterations this report represents the input of WDBs across the [United States] willing to commit resources to what is still a fringe issue within the workforce system” (p.2).

“This project builds on lessons learned in the [United Kingdom]” (p.2). “Government bodies in Britain have pioneered markets that give workers control and provide constant opportunities to progress to better pay, regular hours or new skills across multiple types of work. These markets also make a spectrum of personal support and interventions for irregular workers uniquely cost effective to target, administer and audit” (p.2).

The authors first set the context for and describe the current state of “the new world of irregular employment” (p.3). They then discuss “the potential of public markets” to address the challenges seen with the gig economy (p.3). They conclude with strategies and recommendations for implementing public markets. (p.3)

(Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

“The accelerating trend to irregularity is barely captured in official labor market statistics. But the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office…highlights estimates that 33 percent of America’s workforce may already be in non-standard employment” (p.1). “Currently [the Public Workforce System] is exclusively focused, by federal targets, on traditional jobs. Existing services include public markets run by each state to match job-seekers and openings in any sector. If workforce bodies were able to embrace irregular employment they could also be catalysts for hour-by-hour work through public markets” (p.2). “Findings • Irregularity is set to increase. The workforce system will have to respond to remain relevant. Any intervention would have to be (a) true to the ethos of WDBs; (b) distinctive; and (c) cheap. • A public market putting workers in control, sharing all data, driving quality and targeted at shadow activity is a logical approach. It must support multiple other interventions. • Workforce bodies could play a role in initiating local markets but may not run them. Challenges include current targets and sensitivities around non-standard employment. Recommendations • There is a danger of requiring definitive formal data before the system responds to an obvious trend causing enormous hardship. WDBs and other workforce bodies (labor market intermediaries, charities and philanthropies) could focus on understanding the leverage they could exert to raise prospects in the irregular workforce. • Many stakeholders would have to coalesce around a new model for this type of work. Creating awareness of issues/possibilities/challenges in irregular work is now key. • Well-executed pilots would create a replicable template for potentially wide impact” (p.2). (Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2017
• Author(s): Rowan, Wingham.
• Organizational Author(s): Beyond Jobs
• Funding Source: Annie E. Casey Foundation, Funding source not identified
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Wesley Peterson
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies