On-Demand Workers, Computerization Of Tasks Among Workforce Trends
A new survey of 1,330 employees working for San Francisco Bay-area on-demand startups like TaskRabbit and Uber indicated “many workers have found the pay lower and the hours less flexible than they expected,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The median wage of those surveyed was $18 per hour, and 75% said they joined on-demand startups due to the flexible schedule. However, those that were unhappy with or had left the jobs most frequently cited “not enough pay” as the reason. Discussing the study, Standford master’s candidate Isaac Madan said, “We want to shed light on the industry as a whole. People need to understand how this space will change and evolve and help the economy.”
The results of this on-demand worker survey aren’t the only recent examination of the changing nature of how the US works, particularly in high-tech areas like the Bay. A new report by University of Oxford researchers “estimates 47 percent of jobs in the United States are susceptible to automation within the next 20 years as computers and robots become more sophisticated.” The Christian Science Monitor notes that although this sounds like “bad news,” there is a positive for the US economy as a whole. New jobs will be created in the wake of old ones that machines replace. This has happened before – in the early 1900s, around 40% of US workers were involved in the agricultural industry. Now, only around 2% are. However, overall unemployment “has been steady over the long term.”
What This Means For Small Businesses
The nature of the US workforce is evolving, in terms of both the move towards more freelance and on-demand work as well as an emphasis on automating processes. These developments are encouraging for small businesses as they look for ways to save on labor costs and boost efficiency.
Additional Reading
NFIB previously covered the growing popularity of non-traditional jobs in the Bay Area compared with more typical retail, low-wage work. The Orange County (CA) Register notes that “upstart” private companies examined in CNBC’s recent “Disruptor 50” list include many in California, like Dropbox, Airbnb, SpaceX, and Uber. Some of these firms are among those participating in the on-demand work trend.
