As society relies on gig workers, will they see a boost in stature?
As more than 17 million American workers are out of a job, Sharon Goen, a former hospitality worker in Las Vegas, is having the opposite experience.
“I work six gigs,” she says.
These include delivering meals for Grubhub, moving parcels for Amazon Flex and Shipt, picking up groceries for Instacart, and, before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, pouring drinks for Tend.
And yet despite all the options for work that populate her smartphone screen, Ms. Goen like many gig workers is still feeling squeezed financially.
“We’re not making a living wage,” she says of gig workers. “With the pandemic, the pay is just lower and lower and lower.”
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The coronavirus economy isn’t providing any easy answers. Yes, a gradual reopening from lockdowns has partially reversed this spring’s historic spike in joblessness. But even as the Labor Department reports that the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 11.1% in June, many places including Ms. Goen’s home state of Nevada are seeing COVID-19 caseloads rise. On Wednesday, over 50,000 new cases were reported nationwide, the highest since the pandemic began.
Forming a movementLegislation and legal battles Rise of the co-op platformShifts in public opinion
