Independent work: choice, necessity, and the gig economy

10-15
%
of working-age 
adults in the US 
and EU earn their 
primary living from 
independent work

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28
McKinsey Global Institute
1. Sizing the independent workforce 
Exhibit 4
SOURCE: Eurostat; BLS; Katz and Krueger; UK Labour Force Survey; McKinsey Global Institute analysis 
9
6
6
6
8
10
8
12
9
5
3
7
9
7
6
5
10
3
11
49
48
45
45
37
38
29
29
24
31
41
41
43
40
50
48
57
54
61
48
6
Spain
9
Greece
100% =
Poland
31
39
Germany
52
EU-15
Italy
France
336
52
52
Sweden
8
70
United
Kingdom
United
States
2
251
1 Ages 15+, except in the United States, which is 16+. 
2 Self-employment includes incorporated and unincorporated. Temporary calculated using Katz and Krueger, 
The rise and nature of alternative work 
arrangements in the United States, 1995–2015
. The remaining categories include independent contractors, on-call workers, temporary help agency workers, 
and workers provided by contract firms. 
NOTE: Numbers may not sum due to rounding.
Government statistics track those who earn their primary living from self-employment and temporary work
Unemployed/inactive
Temporary
Self-employed
Permanent