Everee, a leading payroll technology company upending the two-week pay cycle, and the Restaurant Marketing & Delivery Association (RMDA) today released The 2023 Gig Drivers Report, which examines the current state of gig drivers and includes insights from leaders in the gig and delivery industries.
The report, which polled 315 U.S. based gig drivers working for rideshare and delivery companies, found that although the need for gig drivers is increasing, roughly 42% of drivers say it’s possible they will leave gig work within the next 12 months due to low or unpredictable earnings (30%), lack of benefits (28%), and the rising cost of performing work tasks (27%).
“We’re living in a tough economic climate, and many companies are struggling to hire and retain gig workers,” said Brett Barlow, CEO of Everee. “There are many factors that are impacting gig drivers in particular, such as shifting worker classification rules, high gas prices, and inflation. We found that in general, drivers are happier than they were a year ago, but companies still need to be able to understand how outside factors impact this workforce, especially when so many companies rely on gig drivers to move their business operations forward.”
Inflation remains a major issue affecting how gig drivers approach their work. The study found nearly 40% of drivers are working less due to high gas prices, while 38% find themselves working more to try to combat the rising costs. When looking at inflation as a whole, 49% are doing more gig work to try and make ends meet.
Additional key findings include:
- Although 68% prefer to remain 1099 contractors, 81% said they’d give up 1099 flexibility for more money.
- 77% would become W2 employees for healthcare benefits.
- 76% live paycheck to paycheck.
- 42% say they’ve declined a gig job because they had to wait too long to get paid, and 45% have removed themselves from a potential gig job because of long onboarding processes.
- 22% say that negative customer interactions remain a top concern, and 19% indicated they might leave gig work due to feeling unsafe while performing job duties.
“There are many critical factors we’re seeing with driver satisfaction and retention – with one of the immediate fixes being the ability to offer more predictable earnings, fair wages, and instant access to pay,” said Andrew Simmons, president of RMDA. “Being able to make conscious efforts in order to improve driver engagement can help companies stand out from the pack and compete with the established gig economy giants like DoorDash and Uber.”
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