Adam Fink’s workday starts at 7 a.m. in an airport cell phone lot and often ends 12 hours later after his final grocery delivery.
As a full-time gig worker, Fink, a Beaver Countian who recently moved to Moon Township, drives for a rideshare company, delivers groceries and fast food via mobile apps, and offers dog walking services for busy professionals four days a week. He recently earned his bachelor’s degree in history.
“I started doing side gigs during the pandemic as a way to make extra cash,” Fink said. “I had more time because school was online, and there was a lot of demand for things like grocery delivery and stuff like that. But after I graduated, the job market has been a little tricky for me, so I just downloaded more and more of these apps.”
Depending on the day’s demand, Fink said he usually earns $200-$300 each 12-hour shift in wages and tips, or roughly $17-$25 per hour. After job-related fuel expenses, car maintenance and tax payments, “I took home about $40,000 last year,” he said.
Fink likes having the flexibility to set his own hours and interact with the public how he chooses, a stark contrast to his previous service industry jobs.
But it’s not a long-term plan, Fink said. His days, and pay, are unpredictable, and he can’t afford comprehensive health insurance as an independent contractor.
“I know I’ll need a more steady source of income and benefits,” Fink said. “I’m already seeing less money this year because the cost of living just keeps going up.”
While Lyft and Uber report drivers earned approximately $35 per utilized hour in the second half of 2022, including tips and bonuses, an Economic Policy Institute report in 2022 revealed about 14% of all gig workers using digital platforms earned less than the $7.25 federal minimum wage on an hourly basis.
America’s gig economy is often associated with temporary or short-term work via digital platforms like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, or Instacart, but gig workers, or those classified as self-employed, freelance, or independent contractors, represent a large portion of the economy and can include everyone from substitute teachers to writers and musicians.
Wende Dikec, who sometimes writes as Abigail Drake, an award-winning author of 21 novels and part-time instructor at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center, said she earns $1,000-$2,000 from writing and part-time teaching “in a bad month,” and $4,000-$5,000 “in a good month.”
“Because it fluctuates so greatly, I can’t count on a “steady” income from writing alone,” she said. “Teaching writing classes part-time ― at Lincoln Park, at local libraries and through online classes for adults ― help supplement my income, but I also love doing it.”
A 2022 McKinsey and Company survey found that 36% of respondents, equivalent to 58 million Americans, identified as independent workers, up from 27% in 2016.
University of Chicago researchers in May found that those who reported earning taxable income from online gig jobs in the past decade have risen by as much as 400%. Pennsylvania may have experienced a 209% increase in gig workers in the past two years, according to a tax form analysis by Agents Only, a gig-based customer service platform provider. The report suggests Pennsylvania has a workforce of nearly 175,000 gig workers.
“Most of the people I know have some sort of gig to make ends meet,” said Courtney Brown, an aspiring veterinary technician who finds childcare jobs through a mobile app.
“I have a couple of regular babysitting jobs that keep me at about $250 a week for 20 hours, but my cousin is a server and does rideshare and will make $500 one week and $200 the next,” she said. “There’s not a lot guaranteed. And if his car breaks down, his income is lost until he can fix it. It’s a trade-off.”
Reporter Scott Tady contributed to this story.