Hundreds of thousands of Canadians are resorting to gig work as their main job: report
Nearly 900,000 Canadians have taken on gig work as their primary job, according to a new report from Statistics Canada.
The report found that an average of 871,000 Canadians aged 15 and 69 had a main job that featured characteristics “consistent with gig work” between October and December 2022. Additionally, 1.5 million people said they had completed some gig work during that year.
Between July and September 2022, an average of 588,000 people were self-employed, with no employees at their primary job.
Their work involved a “single business relationship where the other party exercised a large extent of control over a key dimension of their work, such as their schedule, the organization of their work, their prices, or the supply of tools or materials,” said the report.
Gig work essentially means temporary or freelance work. Statistics Canada defines it as “a form of employment characterized by short-term jobs or tasks which do not guarantee steady work and where the worker must take specific actions to stay employed.”
It can range from rideshare driving to tutoring.
The report highlighted that a large portion of gig work in Canada was based online or utilized an app, such as Uber, Lyft, or SkipTheDishes.
The data also revealed that 468,000 Canadians had worked in gig positions involving a digital platform at some point in 2023.
While gig work can offer some flexibility, it can also lack stability and benefits.
The report highlights that “platform operators and other businesses who hire gig workers may establish terms of service and other rules which limit the freedom of workers to complete their work as they see fit.”
Many gig workers are paid as self-employed workers rather than employees. Statistics Canada added that social employment insurance programs like sick leave or employment insurance (EI) often do not cover them.
In March 2023, the federal government released a report about developing greater labour protections for gig workers in Canada.
The report noted that gig workers often “can find themselves in precarious and vulnerable economic positions.”
The feds received feedback from gig workers nationwide and noted “a theme of frustration towards working conditions on digital platforms in the gig economy.”
The report stated: “Some workers referred to platform work as exploitation, explaining that companies profit heavily off the work of their contracted staff yet provide them with few benefits or labour protection.”
Following the report’s release, the federal government committed to updating the Labour Code of Canada to ensure better protections for gig workers across the country.
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