Delivering food or taking other gig work might be a tempting fallback for workers worried about losing their jobs in a potential recession.
But earning meaningful money through the gig economy might not be so easy, with average earnings falling and competition among gig workers higher than it was a few years ago.
“It’s not worth the money,” one driver in Colorado who has worked on ride-hailing apps since 2019 told Business Insider.
Gig work provided a source of income for many workers during previous downturns. Apps like Uber and Instacart got their start and recruited lots of independent contractors in the years after the financial crisis of 2008, for instance.
And while the early months of the coronavirus pandemic ground many parts of the economy to a halt, some forms of gig work, especially delivery, became go-to ways of making money.
This time, if an economic downturn arrives, things could be different, gig workers told BI.
During her first year on Uber, the Colorado driver made about $66,000 in gross earnings, according to documents seen by BI. In 2024, she earned half as much despite working a similar number of hours. The driver asked not to be named in this story, citing worries about having her accounts deactivated.
Today, the driver said that she’s looking for alternatives to gig work, including applying to full-time jobs and saving up money to open a food truck.
Many ride-hailing drivers have to cover their own expenses, from gas to car maintenance — costs that have largely risen over the last few years thanks to inflation, the driver said, making many of the trips she is offered through the apps less profitable.
These days, her most profitable rides come during bad weather, when lots of drivers stay home. “We make more when it’s snowing,” the driver said.
In many cities, getting approved to deliver groceries or drive for a ride-hailing service might take weeks or months.
One gig worker in Washington state told BI that she signed up to deliver for Instacart about a year ago and is still waiting for access. “During the pandemic, a lot of people rushed to sign up on Instacart,” the worker said. “I think I’m just stuck behind all of that.”
Instacart has acknowledged the wait times. “Our shopper supply is very healthy,” CEO Fidji Simo said on an earnings call in February. “In fact, we still continue to have a waitlist in most cities.”
Today, gig work in other industries may be more readily available, such as getting paid to stand in line for concert tickets, restaurant reservations, or a celebrity’s hot new product.
Robert Padron, chief people and experience officer at Arise, which offers call center and other customer service gig workers to businesses, said that his company continues to hire gig workers.
Gig workers who work for Arise can choose to handle customer service requests from a variety of companies, Padron said.
“If one client doesn’t have a need for human capital today, there may be 15 others that do,” Padron said.
That’s different from many gig delivery and ride-hailing apps, where “the one thing to do is drive for Uber or go shopping for Instacart,” he added.
Do you have a story to share about gig work? Contact this reporter at abitter@insider.com or 808-854-4501.
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