Gigification of U.S. economy

The New York Times Magazine has published an insightful, long-read article on gig work written by Lauren Hilgers and titled When Your Boss Is an App.

The author presents an interesting argument that “no one is entirely sure how many Americans are working gigs, in part because the definition of gig work grows muddier,” but also because the regular jobs start to resemble gig work by being more irregular and far more driven by algorithms, on-demand marketplaces, or apps.

The article makes a clear distinction between those who tend to benefit from these changes (well-educated white-collar knowledge workers, who freelance by choice) and those who suffer from “freelancing by force” (gig workers).

The main message here is that the gig economy may be a much less important phenomenon than the “gigification” of the entire U.S. economy.

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