Whether you’re part of the “on-demand” workforce or a business that outsources work to this type of contractor, it’s apparent from a recent study that this new “economy” is having a huge effect on a new generation of entrepreneurs. In the updated forecast by Intuit® and Emergent Research, the number of people working on-demand jobs will grow from 3.9 million Americans to 7.7 million in 2020 and 9.2 million by 2021.
If you are unfamiliar with the makeup of the on-demand workforce, it is comprised of online talent marketplaces (freelance writers and designers, for example), drivers, and field service/onsite talent, just to name a few professions.
Here are the overall findings from the study:
- On-Demand Work is Used to Supplement Existing Income: The average person working an on-demand job spends 11 hours per week, and earns 24 percent of their household income via on-demand work. Forty-one percent also have a traditional full-or part-time job.
- On-Demand Work Fills Near-Term Financial Needs: Sixty-six percent of people working on-demand report having variable monthly income. Forty-one percent say that a financial hardship – such as a job loss, medical problem, or unexpected major expense – impacted them during the prior year. By contrast, just 18 percent of all Americans in a recent U.S. Federal Reserve survey reported encountering a financial emergency.
- On-Demand Work Is Used To Build A Sustainable Future: Many people are leaning on on-demand economy work to either develop a new business or supplement and expand an existing business Thirty-seven percent already own a business, and 21 percent want to build a business.
- There is General Satisfaction With On-Demand Work: 38 percent of people working in the on-demand economy say they are better off, while only 14 percent feel they are worse off. Eighty-one percent plan to continue working an on-demand job over the next 12 months, and 67 percent of people are satisfied with their on-demand work.
Intuit addresses the on-demand worker with QuickBooks® Self-Employed, designed for people who do not have any employees, yet need to keep track of income and expenses for accounting and tax.