The Evolution of Platform Gig Work, 2012–2023

We document the dynamics of tax-based measures of gig work through 2023, with a special focus on gig work mediated by online platforms. We compare and contrast
the demographic composition, earnings amounts, and tax-filing behavior of the gig economy over time. Updating data through 2023 allows us to provide the most comprehensive estimates of the COVID-19 pandemic on the gig economy. Between 2019 and 2023, the number of workers receiving a 1099 information return from a platform gig company tripled, increasing by nearly 4 million individuals, and there were approximately 5.6 million individuals receiving information returns from platform gig work by 2023. In contrast, the broader workforce of 1099 freelancers follows a different trend, declining during this period. Overall, the prevalence of 1099 gig work increased by over 0.5 percentage points of the workforce by 2023, with the composition shifting dramatically towards platform gig work. When examining individual tax filings, rather than third-party reported 1099 information returns, we find that the number of individuals reporting self-employment earnings who also had corresponding 1099 returns remained constant over this period, while the number of individuals with self-employment earnings but no 1099 increased.