Gig economy poses tough questions for US

The proliferation of on-demand workers is creating difficult questions for policymakers about how to respond to the changing nature of labour and the safety and welfare issues that it raises.

Most “gig economy” workers, are classified as independent contractors rather than employees, according to rules introduced before the second world war. The rules, however, look increasingly outdated. According to company estimates, some 1m Americans work in the gig economy — also known as the on-demand or sharing economy — among them footloose millennials, professionals who lost their jobs mid-career and cash-strapped baby boomers forced to postpone retirement. A growing number want to see an overhaul of existing regulatory structures, which often prevent them from receiving two sought-after forms of support: safety net benefits, such as pensions, and training.