How Has the Gig Economy Changed During COVID-19?

Sustaining Capitalism

As COVID-19 approaches its third year, entrepreneurism and gig work are on the rise. The percentage of self-employed US workers is approximately 6 percent, the highest level in nearly a decade, and the rate of new business formation by self-employed individuals is 50 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels. For a look at the factors behind this surge—and what the future of gig work holds—tune in to a new episode of the Sustaining Capitalism podcast from the Committee for Economic Development (CED), the public policy center of The Conference Board . In it, CED Senior Economist Elizabeth Crofoot sits down with Hollie Heikkinen, CEO and Founder of iWorker Innovations LLC, and Camille Olson, Partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, to discuss the changing dynamics in the gig work economy.

The three discuss why more and more people are choosing gig work, policy considerations to improve benefits for these workers, and how companies can optimize their relationship with their independent workforce. Both Heikkinen and Olson are CED Trustees; Heikkinen is also an advisor to the Human Capital Center of The Conference Board and Olson sits on the Board of Trustees of The Conference Board.