Book of jobs rewritten

In the working world, a full-time job with one employer has been considered the norm for decades, but this model fails to describe how a significant share of the US workforce makes a living. In the latest iteration of McKinsey's American Opportunity Survey (AOS), a remarkable 36% of employed respondents - equivalent to 58 million Americans when extrapolated from the representative sample - identify as independent workers. This figure represents a notable rise since we estimated the US independent workforce in 2016 at 27% of the employed population....

This year's AOS data suggest a seismic shift in how Americans work and support themselves - 36% of employed respondents tell us they labour as independent workers, up from our estimate of 27% in 2016. On permanent employment, 72% of independent workers say they have only one job.

The independent workforce enables companies, government agencies and not-for-profit organisations of all sizes to expand their workforces during periods of peak demand - such as holiday seasons for retailers - and then revert to a leaner core team when workloads return to normal....


From 'Freelance, Side Hustles and Gigs: Many More Americans Have Become Independent Workers', McKinsey & Co