Independent work: choice, necessity, and the gig economy

Key survey highlights
1
Individuals 
not earning 
income
Traditional workers
+68%

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McKinsey Global Institute
Appendix: Technical notes 
Last 5 years
Grew
Relatively 
flat
Fell
4.6 million
self-employed workers
% of working-age population
9%
8%
Compared to
1.6 million
temporary workers
% of working-age population
3%
6%
Compared to
1.2 million
workers with multiple jobs
% of working-age population
2%
2%
Compared to
UNITED KINGDOM
Economic and labor market context
Independent workforce: Government statistics
▪
Unemployment has roughly tracked trends in the EU-15, although the rates have remained slightly lower.
▪
Self-employment is slightly higher in the United Kingdom (9 percent) than in the EU-15 (8 percent) but 
temporary work is less prevalent (3 percent in the UK vs. 6 percent in EU-15).
▪
Eleven million want more work: 2 million who are unemployed, 1 million who are part-time involuntary, 
and 8 million inactive.
GDP growth and median household income growth
Total and youth unemployment rate
% of labor force
8
20
5
-10
-15
-2
0
-6
10
0
-4
15
6
2
-5
4
11
2015
13
12
14
08
2005
09 10
07
06
GDP growth
% change, constant prices, 
2010 $
Median household 
income growth
%
10
20
15
0
5
25
11
07
2015
12
10
14
13
09
08
2005 06
UK youth
EU total
EU youth
UK total
GDP
$ trillion
2.21
2.31
2.50
52.4 million
working-age population
32.8 million
people in the labor force
11.1 million
people who want to work more
Key highlights
NOTE: Numbers may not sum due to rounding. 
SOURCE: Eurostat; OECD; McKinsey McKinsey Global Institute analysis

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Independent work: Choice, necessity, and the gig economy
6M
7–
11M
Casual earners are the largest group of 
independent earners
% of independent earners
4.6
4.4
4.5
4.9
6
4
5
2
1
3
Traditional
Independents
Independents
Traditional
By choice (primary work only)
Out of necessity
Current primary 
independent 
workers
Potential primary 
independent workers 
based on stated desire
By choice
Out of 
necessity
74%
26%
4 million
Free 
agents
32%
6 million
Casual 
earners
42%
2 million
Reluctants
12%
2 million
Financially 
strapped
14%
44%
56%
Primary
Scale from 1 (completely dissatisfied) 
to 6 (completely satisfied)