Independent work: choice, necessity, and the gig economy

INDEPENDENT EARNERS WHO WORK THROUGH DIGITAL PLATFORMS ARE 
MORE LIKELY TO DO SO BY CHOICE
Those who find work through digital labor platforms (such as Upwork, Thumbtack, or Uber) 
represent a unique segment of the labor force. They are particularly likely to be independent 
by choice. In the United States, 87 percent of “digitally enabled” independent earners 
choose this working style, compared with 69 percent who do not use digital platforms. 
Furthermore, across the United States and the EU-15, 42 percent of digitally enabled 
independent workers are free agents vs. only 28 percent of those who provide services 
without the aid of digital platforms. 
The digitally enabled independent workforce is diverse, since various platforms focus on 
unique markets. They are not all college students or millennials. In the United States, the 
average age of digitally enabled independent workers is roughly 40. Some platforms are 
heavily skewed toward one gender. Eighty-six percent of Uber’s US drivers are men, for 
instance, while the same share of Etsy sellers are women. Participants also use digital 
platforms for various types of earning opportunities. Some 40 percent of Uber drivers in the 
United States earn their primary living through the platform, but just 7 percent of those who 
rent properties on Airbnb rely on it as their primary source of income. Education levels also 
vary substantially by platform: 48 percent of Uber drivers have a college degree or more, 
while that share rises to 82 percent for Airbnb hosts (Exhibit 19). 
It should be noted that the regulatory environment in each country affects the way 
workers use these platforms. Driving for Uber in France is an entirely different undertaking 
than driving for the platform in the United States. France created an 
autoentrepreneur
 
designation in 2008, which increased the number of individuals who were self-employed 
by streamlining tax filing and the process of becoming self-employed. However, regulators 
have imposed higher requirements specifically for drivers, including 250 hours of formal 
training and an additional cost and time investment for a “DRE license,” although drivers 
can avoid these costs by working through an existing transportation company. These 
hurdles, especially compared to the lower investment required in the United States, have 
encouraged a different segment of the French workforce to participate on the Uber platform 
(Exhibit 20).
50
 
49
 
Precarious employment in Europe, Part 1: Patterns, trends, and policy strategy
, European Parliament, 
July 2016.
50
  Augustin Landier, Daniel Szomoru, and David Thesmar, 
Working in the on-demand economy: An analysis of 
Uber driver-partners in France
, March 2016.
Across all six survey countries, those who are 
independent by preference outnumber those who are 
independent out of necessity by a substantial margin. 

---

60
McKinsey Global Institute
2. Choice vs. necessity: Understanding the independent workforce