Gig Economy Statistics 2026

In July 2023, 11.9 million people were independent contractors on their sole or main job, representing 7.4 percent of total employment.

The contingent rate, the percent of employed people who are in contingent jobs, was 4.3 percent.

The U.S. independent workforce reached a record 74.9 million people in 2026, but the bigger shift is happening within the workforce itself.

Since 2020, the number of full-time independent professionals has grown 114%.

Full-time independents now represent 22% of all full-time U.S. workers, nearly twice their share in 2019.

After a plateau in 2023, the number of independent content creators jumped 13% in 2025 to 10.1 million.

Overall, 20 percent of adults performed gig activities over the prior month (table 4).

In 2024, 13 percent of people made money by selling things and 9 percent made money by doing short-term tasks such as giving rides, delivering takeout, or doing odd jobs.

Only 21 percent of people who did these activities reported gig activities as their main job.

Ninety-six percent of people who did gig activities said they usually spent less than 35 hours per week doing them and 70 percent spent less than 5 hours per week on them.

Twenty-six percent of people ages 18 to 29 said they had done any gig, whereas the percentage was a smaller 12 percent for people age 60 and older (table 5).

The contingent rate for workers ages 16 to 24 was 12.9 percent, compared with 3.1 percent for those ages 25 to 54 and 2.6 percent for those age 55 and older.

36% of traditional employees now report having side gigs.

Among full-time workers in July 2023, median weekly earnings on the sole or main job for contingent workers ($838) were 74 percent of those of noncontingent workers ($1,137).

In July 2023, workers in contingent jobs were much less likely to have employer-provided health insurance than workers in noncontingent jobs (19.9 percent versus 51.2 percent).

An estimated 5.8 million independent professionals now earn more than $100,000 annually, nearly double the number in 2020.

While 59% say they earn more independently, 84% say they're happier—and that may matter more.

In 2025, over 9 million people dashed 4 , earning a total of over $20 billion.

Among self-employed adults, 58 percent said their income varied from month to month.

Among those who worked for someone else in the month before the survey, a far lower 28 percent reported income variability, and 10 percent struggled to pay bills as a result.

Most workers managed these various commitments through regular work schedules, and 10 percent had a schedule that varied at their own request. However, 16 percent had a work schedule that varied based on their employer’s needs.

Thirty percent of the self-employed worked entirely from home, including 22 percent of business owners with paid employees.

The shares were higher among people who did short-term tasks, at 54 percent, and particularly those who did short-term tasks using an app or website, at 61 percent.

As in prior surveys, independent contractors overwhelmingly preferred their work arrangement (80.3 percent), whereas 8.3 percent would prefer a traditional work arrangement.

The companion report, The 2026 State of Independence: Perspectives from the Independent Workforce®, found that 78% of independent professionals plan to remain independent or build a larger business.

Among independent professionals, 61% say schedule flexibility is very important, compared with 36% of enterprises that recognize its importance to independent talent.

Total Orders grew to 3.2 billion in 2025, a 23% increase compared to 2024.

Trips during the quarter grew 16% year-over-year (“YoY”) to 4.1 billion, driven by Monthly Active Platform Consumers (“MAPCs") growth of 14% YoY and monthly Trips per MAPC growth of 2% YoY.

Gross Bookings grew 20% YoY to $59.8 billion, and 20% on a constant currency basis.

As of December 31, 2025, we offer approximately 600,000 shoppers an immediate, flexible earnings opportunity that allows them to choose when and how much to work.

Rides accelerated sequentially to record levels, up 12% year over year to 262 million, with global strength across Freenow by Lyft in Europe, North American rideshare, and Lyft Urban Solutions.

“We have surpassed 30 million Active Riders globally, our highest ever, as more people embed Lyft into their everyday lives,” said Lyft CEO David Risher.

With customers in over 180 countries, our platforms and other workforce solutions enabled $4.0 billion of GSV for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, and $4.1 billion for the year ended December 31, 2023.

The number of active clients decreased 6% as of December 31, 2025, compared to December 31, 2024, driven by slower growth in acquisition of new clients as well as lower retention of existing clients.

GSV from freelancers with AI-skills reached an estimated annualized run rate of nearly $450 million in Q3 2026.

as of September 30, 2026, were 2.4 million, compared to 3.3 million as of September 30, 2025, a decline of 25.8% year over year.

As of December 31, 2025, the Etsy marketplace had 86.5 million active buyers and 5.6 million active sellers.

In the United States, Depop’s largest market, active sellers grew 60% year-over-year in 2025.

Airbnb was founded in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown into a global community of over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2.5 billion guest arrivals in almost every country and region across the globe.

As of October 2025, focusing on global online web -based platforms and location-based platforms in sectors like taxi , delivery, healthcare, personal services, and tutoring, at least 653 active platforms were identified (Figure 1, based on Crunchbase data 2).

Within th e online web -based platforms, freelance platforms (136) constitute the majority, followed by microtask (42) and competitive programming platforms (25).

Background European Commission analysis from 2021 found that there are more than 500 digital labour platforms active and the sector employs more than 28 million people - a figure expected to reach 43 million by 2025.

The new rules, agreed on by the Parliament and the Council in February and adopted with 554 votes in favour, 56 votes against and 24 abstentions, aim to ensure that platform workers have their employment status classified correctly and to correct bogus self-employment.

And a considerable wage gap still exists with women earning just 68 percent of men’s wages on one major online platform reviewed.

Among executives surveyed, 54% expect AI to increase their use of independent talent over the next two years, compared with just 8% who expect a decrease.