Shock Resistant

The US has recently been hit by two distinct economic shocks that have put pressure on Americans and their families– the spike in unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent spike in the cost of living.

In the past, when confronted with these types of crises, Americans have had limited options to make ends meet. Loss of work and living through a period when prices went up and remained high left some Americans experiencing material hardships including not paying all bills and skipping medical care because of the cost. On top of this are the impacts to mental wellbeing.

The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing period of elevated inflation was the first time that major economic shocks have occurred when platform work is widely available. These events therefore provide a unique opportunity to examine the impact of platform work on Americans during economic crises.

Using a nationwide survey of platform workers in the US, combined with administrative data from Uber, academic literature, and public datasets, our new report unpacks the ways in which workers interacted with the platform economy to manage the impacts of the pandemic and inflation.

Read the full report here.