Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the world in which we are accustomed to has turned upside down. Businesses, airports, borders and much more have closed and it has become difficult to plan ahead.
This new situation has created challenges, threatened people’s livelihoods and the future of corporations and specific industries and sectors, yet some industries may see a silver lining in it.
Furthermore, a larger discussion has begun about the gig economy with some saying this period is a test for the strength of this emerging economy.
Services Move Online
Many platforms are moving online from exercise classes to school classes. Some experts have discussed the potential growth for platforms disrupting the fitness industry. As more people start to practice self-distancing, online gyms and other classes may become popular among certain groups.
Schools are going online and the demand for online tutors and private teachers could potentially increase with parents needing something for their children to do at home.
As more services move online and more jobs are being completed from home, the more apparent it is that technology is influencing the way in which we can live and work.
How are Gig Workers Affected by the Pandemic?
We asked 1400 gig workers from appjobs.com about their financial situations, the job categories they work in, changes in their hours worked and if they are satisfied with the support they received from their gig companies.
The Survey Results Shows
Delivery and Freelancing are Industries Performing Well
According to AppJobs Institute data based on the Appjobs website there has been increases in global demand for jobs such as delivery, online freelance and surveys and market research. This increase came at the same time that the pandemic demanded more people to self isolate.
To give an example from the industry, Instacart, a grocery delivery company, added 300,000 full time shoppers to be able to meet their growing demand of new deliveries according to The Star.
Gig-workers are the unsung heroes during this pandemic, aiding the elderly who cannot leave home and many others who are self-isolating.
Other sectors such as freelance and online survey taking have seen a steady increase. Many freelancers choose to work remotely to begin with, so it’s unlikely that they had to make many adjustments. Although the work environment may be a bit different with more family members being present, the work itself has remained the same.
If anything the industry has received more attention from those looking for a source of income while remaining home, along with online survey jobs which typically offer a supplemental income of gift cards and cash payments for smaller purchases.
Since social distancing has become a norm in many countries in the first week of March, there has been a 36% drop in demand for gigs such as house sitting, babysitting and cleaning.
Industries Being Affected
Not every industry has been affected the same with many different mandates being put into place on city, state, and national levels. Several countries and cities are on lockdown to contain the virus, and many countries have closed their borders, which has resulted in flights being canceled and airlines shutting down.
This has had a particularly large impact on the tourism industry which has trickled into other sectors such as house sitting, pet sitting, and private space rentals.
With the population being advised to stay at home and only to leave the house when it’s absolutely necessary, taxi, bus, metro, truck drivers and other workers in transportation are being impacted as well.
One of the industries that was hit particularly hard is the tourism industry. With flights being canceled and only essential businesses remaining open as well as the worldwide narrative to stay home, tourism is at an all time low.
CNN has reported that this is the worst aviation crisis in history with American Airlines reducing its international capacity by three quarters between March 16 and May 6. United Airlines will be cutting capacity in half for April and May, while Delta is reducing capacity by 40% in the next few months, and Ryanair grounding the majority of their flights and reducing their seat capacity by 80%. Some airlines have had to lay off their employees, Bloomberg reported that SAS, for example, has laid 90% of their workforce.
Another part of the tourism industry that has been affected is hotels as well as private home rentals. In Sweden, a well-known hotel chain, Scandic, has laid off 50% of their employees in response to the falling demand.
The New York Times reported that this is affecting companies such as the Expedia Group which owns VRBO and Hotel.com which is expecting a $30 million to $40 million dollar hit and thus has had to lay off 12% or 3,000 of their employees. While hosts with Airbnb are also feeling the effects of the travel bans and city shut downs.
The same New York Times article reported that a couple in Tokyo who manage 12 rental apartments through Airbnb have seen the occupancy rate drop from 80% to zero in the last three months.
A similar fate is for most Airbnb hosts that depend on the income to pay for the mortgages of the properties being rented. Many hosts as well as hotel chains have been cutting their prices significantly in hopes to stay afloat during these uncertain times.
Decrease in the house sitting sector
A closely related sector that has felt the repercussion of a shrinking tourism market is the house sitting and pet sitting sector and to a lesser degree housekeeping as well. House sitting is typically done when the home owners are out of town and would like for someone to watch over their properties and with most travel being cancelled the opportunities are less.
The same can be said with pet sitting. People often employ pet sitters for when they are out of town or working away from home for the majority of the day but with the new sections in place, most pet owners are at home with their pets and not in need of any help. The pause on travelling for work or pleasure has added to the decline in need for these workers.
While housekeepers are often employed by hotels or hosts renting out their private spaces as well as commercial office spaces, they are also seeing a decline in business due to travel as well as people remaining in their homes.
Self-isolation is also calling for limited contact with people outside of homes so housekeeping duties are being postponed until social distancing is no longer deemed necessary. The AppJobs platform has been a decline in activity surrounding this category of work due to the lack of demand.
The situation of babysitters is complicated as schools began closing before offices. This was a particularly hard situation in Italy, as the responsibility to take care of the children fell on grandparents. Times reported that 8.4 million children were left without a place to go while parents were working due to schools closing and many grandparents took over the task.
Shortly after, the country went into lockdown much like Hong Kong where parents had to work from home with their children. Our data suggests that in the last two weeks the babysitting category has decreased by half which can be a result from more nations moving towards social distancing and parents remaining home with their children.
Only time will tell how flattening the curve will continue to affect industries and influence the way we view work in the future. The strength of industries and companies are being tested and the interconnectedness of many sectors are becoming more apparent each day.
The pandemic has taught many what is necessary to adapt as well as thrive in a new way. Although times are trying and difficult, we anticipate a comeback that is stronger and wiser than before the pandemic.