Independent work: choice, necessity, and the gig economy

~50
M
reluctant or 
financially strapped 
independent 
workers in the US 
and EU-15 
combined
Exhibit 13
SOURCE:  McKinsey Global Institute analysis
Independent work provides earning opportunities for the unemployed
Responses from MGI Survey
Share of workers who experienced unemployment or a period in which 
they did not earn income in the previous 12 months
% of respondents
8
24
27
15
EU-15
1
United States
Traditional workers
Independent workers
REPEATS as exh31
1 Extrapolated from five survey countries.

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McKinsey Global Institute
Independent work: Choice, necessity, and the gig economy
Box 3. Temporary work, long-term questions
For many years, the image of a temporary worker was that of a college student on summer 
break who is sent to a company by a staffing agency to cover when the full-time receptionist 
is on vacation. But today temporary or contract work reaches into a broader age group and 
many more occupations. In academia, for example, it is now harder to climb the tenure track 
as universities increasingly rely on lower-paid adjunct faculty.
1
Temporary work has become pervasive across many European countries during a weak 
recovery. Indeed, one in two Europeans between 15 and 24 years of age works part time or 
on a temporary basis.
2
 And in the United States, one study found that all net new job growth 
between 2007 and 2015 came from temporary workers or workers in alternative work 
arrangements.
3
 
Not all temporary contracts fit into our definition of independent work, since many are 
relatively long term and the conditions are tightly set by the employer. Many temporary 
workers have open-ended contracts but nevertheless lack some income protections and 
benefits that traditional workers enjoy. In Europe, this phenomenon has taken several 
different forms. In the United Kingdom, for example, some 800,000 workers are now on 
“zero-hours contracts,” in which they are on call for an employer but are not guaranteed any 
working hours in a particular time period.
4
 These contracts are not found in all countries but 
account for 2.4 percent of employment in the United Kingdom.
5
 
Many companies and even entire industries now rely on large temporary workforces 
supplied by staffing agencies or subcontracting firms. Instead of hiring traditional employees 
to clean rooms, many hotels, for example, hire contractors that bring in temporary workers. 
Many warehouse facilities and retail operations are staffed by temps, an arrangement that 
allows companies to adjust their staffing to track fluctuations in demand more precisely.
6
 
Media coverage has highlighted temporary workers in precarious circumstances—even 
some who have felt too expendable to raise concerns about unsafe workplace conditions. 
There is growing concern that the expansion of temporary work is simply leading to the 
proliferation of low-wage, insecure jobs. 
Looking at the subset of temporary workers who do fit into our definition of independent 
work (based on their autonomy or short length of contract), we see a story that differs 
from the rest of the independent workforce. Across the United States and Europe 
combined, free agents are notably less likely to have had temporary contracts in the past 
year, while reluctants are more likely to have had them (Exhibit 14). Looking more closely 
within the United States, more than 70 percent of independent earners (both primary and 
supplemental) have actively chosen to be independent. But that share drops to below 
60 percent for independent workers who had at least one temporary contract in the 
previous 12 months, while it is almost 80 percent among those who had no temporary 
contracts.  The split is even wider in Spain, where about half of free agents had a temporary 
contract in the past year but 80 percent of reluctants did. 
1
  Caroline Fredrickson, “There is no excuse for how universities treat adjuncts,” 
The Atlantic
, September 2015.
2
 
Precarious employment in Europe, Part 1: Patterns, trends, and policy strategy
, European Parliament, 
July 2016.
3
  Lawrence Katz and Alan Krueger, 
The rise and nature of alternative work arrangements in the United States, 
1995–2015
, March 2016.
4
  “Contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours,” UK Office of National Statistics, March 2016, 
available at https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/
articles/contractsthatdonotguaranteeaminimumnumberofhours/march2016.
5
 
Precarious employment in Europe, Part 1: Patterns, trends, and policy strategy
, European Parliament, 
July 2016.
6
  See, for example, Steven Greenhouse, “The changing face of temporary employment,” 
New York Times
, 
August 31, 2014; Jack Ewing, “Temp workers in Germany dismay unions,” 
New York Times
, April 19, 2011; 
Sarah O’Connor, “The new world of work: Recovery driven by rise in temp jobs,” 
Financial Times
, August 4, 
2015; and Elizabeth Olson, “The rise of the permanently temporary worker,” 
Fortune
, May 5, 2011.

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McKinsey Global Institute
2. Choice vs. necessity: Understanding the independent workforce