Introduction

Gig workers share a lot of attributes with contract workers and freelancers. However, the only significant factor that differentiates between the two is that a gig worker tends to be more single and short term task-focused. Thus, the gig economy is the conjunction of various organizations hiring workers to attain one common goal i.e. complete a gig.

Although the gig economy may sound new to most people, the concept was introduced way back in the 90s. Initially started by jazz musicians when they started referring to their performances as ‘gig’, the gig economy has taken a huge leap since. Late in the 90s, a small number of Americans started working as contractors or on-demand workers that gave birth to companies like Craigslist and Upwork.

Fast forward ten years and we are looking at an industry that is going to surpass the number of conventional workers by the year 2021 with companies like Airbnb and Uber being the giants of the gig economy. A wide range of organizations are contributing to the success of the gig economy by providing financial support to gig workers.

While we only scratched the surface, to learn more about the history and future of the gig economy, refer to the visual  below to know more about the Past, Present and Future of the Gig Economy (originally published at Gigworker). 

(click on the image bellow to enlarge it)