Gig work, but without technological backup, is not new in Latin America and the Caribbean: delivering groceries to people at home, along with cleaning and transportation services, are one example. Nevertheless, during the past couple of years, the hunt to find some sources of income has been more productive and scalable than ever. Services that once required multiple steps—calls, appointments, payments—can now be done in two clicks, showing the impact of the Economic Effects of the Gig Tech Economy.
Providers with clients in an automated way. Which is the nature of the gig economy now, and how is it transforming the world of work in the region? In this we tell you how. The term gig economy means the new form of earning in the framework beyond the concept of labour, according to which an individual bears the duty of executing a concrete task and pays the money himself or herself as a service negotiating it on his or her own.
How workers benefit from the gig economy
The phenomenon has been important in economic recovery in the region due to the COVID 19-caused economic crisis. As an example, when most of the countries experienced the peak of the pandemic (better to say between the first and the last week of March 2020), home delivery platforms such as DiDi Food and Rappi were used 50 per cent more.
Than usual, with variations across countries, following the confinement measures. The economic crisis caused by the pandemic showed that people needed to have the flexible means of generating revenue with low entry barriers. Since we have experienced the loss of jobs and the fall in spending that we have witnessed in the region at the height of the pandemic, when more than 31 million workers had lost their jobs, digital platforms have become an income source or something similar to the unreliable source of income often known as unemployment insurance.
The reports of its death
Since people have an opportunity of working with a flexible schedule and it offers a source of income, digital platforms appeal to people with various backgrounds. As an example, in the work Survey of Uber driver-users in Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Brazil” (2018), 22 percent of the respondents had full-time jobs and used the site to supplement their income on a temporary basis; and 21 percent considered themselves independent workers.
How companies are leveraging the gig economy
As such, depending on the needs of the individual, the platforms accommodate the work hours demanded by the individual. In case of example, the platforms may be the primary source of income to a person who spends majority of his/her time in this, or a secondary source to his or her regular pay, a day or two during the weekend.
By people in the gig economy. The following are few examples Gig economy has truly started and it is an alternative to the job market by thousands of individuals. The BID Digital Social Security Lab and the BID Lab have joined forces with platforms such as DiDi and Beat to analyse their profile and circumstance within the context of COVID-19 to feel what their situation is and what they are interested in, the user profile and preference of the gig economy, especially that of the drivers and delivery workers.
Conclusion
As well as driver users in Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. These surveys point at the benefits of this form of work as reported by its users and the prospects of doing better with their finances in the immediate future (e.g., emergency funds) and in the long run (e.g., retirement plans).
These sites do not require a formal employer because of the flexibility of working in the gig economy, thereby breaking the traditional model of access to social security. The lack of a steady employer may mean that a certain group of users of collaborative economy platforms has no access to traditional social security. This lack of entrenchment with social safety is not particular to the gig economy. The truth is that the extent to informality in Latin America and the Caribbean has been quite high.
