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 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 platform gig workers nearly tripled, increasingly by over 3 million individuals, and there are approximately 5.8 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. Self-employment tax filing is largely unchanged over this period.