Shift Project Survey
What is it measuring?
The survey aimed to capture a national, comprehensive picture of gig work, asking about demographics, job characteristics, and economic security. By surveying both platform-based gig workers and W-2 service sector workers, the study yields comparative analyses of wages and insecurity across these groups.
What does it tell us?
Approximately 1 in 7 gig workers earned less than the federal hourly minimum wage in 2020. 62 percent of gig workers reported losing earnings due to technical issues with clocking in or out, while just 19 percent of W-2 service sector workers reported the same. 30 percent of gig workers and 15 percent of W-2 workers reported using the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to purchase food.
How is it collected?
Data is collected by the The Shift Project over a 10-week period twice a year. Survey respondents elected into the survey via Facebook and Instagram advertisements. For this report, data specifically targeting gig workers was collected in May 2020, and included a sample of 288 gig workers and 4,201 W-2 service-sector workers.
Who collects it?
Data is collected by The Shift Project, a joint project between the Harvard Kennedy School and UCSF, using surveys deployed through social media.
Considerations
Although this survey is helpful in its comparison between platform gig workers and service-sector employees, it has a small and non-random sample and so has limited generalizability and cannot be used to estimate the relative size of the gig workforce.
How to access this data?
Privately held by The Shift Project
Reports
National survey of gig workers paints a picture of poor working conditions, low pay; 2022; ; Economic Policy Institute;