Coronavirus will crash the gig economy

The gig economy makes up an increasingly large proportion of jobs. In the UK, the gig economy employs roughly one in ten people, and it shows no signs of stopping.^[1] For those in the gig economy, there is no job security or benefits, making them far more susceptible to the economic impact of something like coronavirus. This also has knockon effects for other people and the spread of coronavirus as a whole. Gig economy workers are unlikely to be able to stop working, even if they get sick. But as more and more people become largely confined to their homes, delivery workers will be relied on more than ever, making it possible that these gig workers could become super spreaders.^[2] Conversely, services from gig economy companies may become extraordinarily expensive if workers elect to isolate themselves, exposing the ways in which we heavily rely on the gig economy with no measures for its continuance in an emergency.^[3]

[P1] We are increasingly reliant on gig economy workers. [P2] Gig economy workers have no protections. [P3] These things combine mean an emergency like coronavirus could have a serious effect on both gig economy workers and those who have come to rely on them.