benefits

Contingent Worker Supplement (CWS)

Shelly Steward — Thu, 07 Jun 2018 03:27:56 +0000

Contingent Worker Supplement (CWS) Shelly Steward Wed, 06/06/2018 - 23:27

How is it collected?

The CWS is a supplement to the monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) by the Census Bureau for BLS. The CPS in collected via telephone and in person among all non-institutionalized persons age 16 and over. About 60,000 households are sampled each month. The supplement was administered to a sample of respondents who reported working for pay in the past week.

Who collects it?

The CWS is administered by the Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What is it measuring?

The Contingent Worker Supplement (CWS) estimates the number of American workers in contingent and alternative arrangements as their main job in the past week. Contingent arrangements are short-term or temporary jobs, which workers do not expect to last. Alternative arrangements are particular types of relationships between workers and the individual or company who pays them, including 1) independent contractors, 2) temporary help agency workers, 3) on-call workers, and 4) workers provided by contract firms. It also gathers information on demographics, industry, and access to benefits.

In 2017 and 2023, respondents were asked if they used online platforms to arrange jobs or tasks, either online or offline.

What does it tell us?

In 2023, 10.2 percent of the workforce were engaged in alternative arrangements as their main job, including 7.4 percent as independent contractors, 2.8 1.7 as on-call workers, and 0.5 percent as contract firm workers. 4.3 percent had contingent jobs, which they did not expect to last. There was some overlap between these two categories.

In 2017, 10.1 percent of the workforce was engaged in alternative arrangements as their main job, and 3.8 percent was engaged in contingent arrangements. There was slight overlap between the two categories. About 1 percent of the workforce used apps to arrange work.

In 2005, 10.7 percent of the workforce was engaged in an alternative arrangements as their main job in the past week. 4.1 percent of the workforce was engaged in a contingent work arrangement.

Considerations

The CWS is one of the most rigorous studies of alternative work. However, it only asks about workers' main jobs—the job for which they worked the most hours—meaning it leaves out any supplemental or occasional work. In addition, it relies on workers correctly self-identifying their own employment arrangement.

How to access this data?

Data, when available, can be found on the BLS website.

Study tags

independent contractors

Reports

Contingent and Alternative Employment Arrangements - May 2017; 2018; Bureau of Labor Statistics; US Department of Labor;

Contingent and Alternative Employment Arrangements - July 2023; 2024; Bureau of Labor Statistics; US Department of Labor;

Schedule SE/C Tax Returns

ilrweb admin — Fri, 11 May 2018 18:57:03 +0000

Schedule SE/C Tax Returns ilrweb admin Fri, 05/11/2018 - 14:57

How is it collected?

Findings are based on a sample of 2014 individual tax returns, including a 10-percent sample of individuals who file a Schedule SE or Schedule C, which are used to report self-employment income and sole-proprietorships, and a 1-percent sample of W2 wage earners without self-employment income.

Who collects it?

The Office of Tax Analysis of the U.S. Department of Treasury.

What is it measuring?

The number of workers with self-employment income.

What does it tell us?

In 2014, 12 percent of all tax filers with earnings filed returns reporting self-employment income or the operation of a nonfarm sole-proprietorship, up 32 percent since 2001. 0.7 percent filed a return reporting income from an online intermediary.

Considerations

This count includes only self-employed workers, and so excludes many other gig arrangements, like temp-agency, on-call, and contract-company work. In addition, although it considers comprehensively all tax returns filed, workers may not always be filing the appropriate forms. Replication of this count is needed to track trends over time.

How to access this data?

The full returns are not publicly available, but much administrative tax data is available via the IRS Tax Statistics page.

Study tags

independent contractors

online platforms

public

worker-side

Reports

The Rise of Alternative Work Arrangements: Evidence and Implications for Tax Filing and Benefit Coverage; 2017; Emilie Jackson, Adam Looney, and Shanthi Ramnath; Dpt of Treasury Office of Tax Analysis;

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Gig Workers in America

ilrweb admin — Fri, 11 May 2018 18:52:57 +0000

Gig Workers in America ilrweb admin Fri, 05/11/2018 - 14:52

How is it collected?

This one-time survey was conducted in 2017, distributed to adults who had agreed to participate in Harris Poll surveys. 1,491 workers were surveyed, including 721 gig workers.

Who collects it?

Prudential commissioned Harris Poll to conduct the survey.

What is it measuring?

Income, access to benefits, and experiences of workers who provide service or labor and work for themselves.

What does it tell us?

Those who rely on gig work as their only source of income earn less and have less access to benefits than full-time traditional employees.

Considerations

Online panels are unlikely to be representative of the population. These findings point to interesting differences between gig only, supplemental gig, and traditional workers, but the data is not able to speak to the prevalence of these arrangements.

How to access this data?

Privately held by Prudential

Study tags

benefits

demographics

independent contractors

Reports

Gig Workers in America: Profiles, Mindsets, and Financial Wellness; 2017; Harris Poll; Prudential;

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Freelance Forward

ilrweb admin — Fri, 11 May 2018 18:51:25 +0000

Freelance Forward ilrweb admin Fri, 05/11/2018 - 14:51

How is it collected?

Through an online survey administered by Edelman Intelligence, with 3,000 total respondents including 1,142 freelancers. The sample was intended to be demographically representative.

Who collects it?

Upwork, an online freelancing platform, commissions Edelman Inteligence to conduct the survey.

This survey was known as Freelancing in America and collected in partnership with Freelancers Union, an advocacy organization for freelance workers, from 2014 to 2019.

What is it measuring?

This survey counts the number of workers who engaged in any supplemental, temporary, project- or contract-based work at any point in the past 12 months. It also asks a wide range of questions about the outlooks, experiences, satisfaction, and challenges of these workers.

What does it tell us?

In 2023, 38 percent of workers engaged in freelance work in some capacity, representing 64 million people. Since the first iteration of the survey in 2014, this has increased modestly from 34 percent.

Considerations

The survey has a particularly broad time frame for engagement in independent work, including any activity that has been done in the past year. It also includes some vague questions, leaving respondents to rely on their own interpretations of terms like "full-time." Online surveys, in addition, are unlikely to be fully representative of the population.

How to access this data?

Privately held by Upwork.

Study tags

benefits

demographics

freelancers

independent contractors