A recent study done by an economic research group claims our labor market is rapidly heading in a new direction.
Even if you take the astounding projection that 40 percent of the workforce will be freelancers by 2020 with a dose of incredulity, this type of change in the way workers are hired is a seismic shift in a post-Great Recession, advanced technological economy.
Significant shifts in factors of societal and economic importance to the labor climate mark these changes. A look at these factors could show how an economy full of freelancers could differ from that of the past and how it could remain exactly the same.
It is no secret this country’s manufacturing sector has been largely wiped out. Even people with college degrees struggle to find work that not only pays well but also fulfills their goals and aspirations.
Steel workers of the past had jobs where the fruit of their labor was literally building their country.
Changes in union rights, trade policy and wage stagnation have caused changes in the typical jobs people have available to them. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the industries with the highest employment growth are construction, retail trade and offices of health practitioners.
We shouldn’t be surprised that a nation of road workers, American Eagle clerks and dermatologists’ secretaries is searching for new opportunities to stimulate their work lives.
Freelance work allows someone to experience a sense of freedom. A romanticized image comes to mind of the liberated freelancer, moving city to the city and never feeling trapped at a company for thirty years like their parents, because “I don’t work for the man — I work for myself.”
This stereotype aside, we should regard this new development in our economy with caution.
Freelance work appeals predominantly to recent college graduates for two reasons.
Firstly, college grads are still in the process of building up a suitable résumé, and freelance work allows a person to acquire a wide breadth of experience in a short amount of time.
Secondly, college grads are typically not obligated to take care of children or a family, which requires the consistency and stability of a salaried position with substantial job security. What happens when these workers age and begin to require more constant and reliable pay?
However, consider as well that clients of freelancers don’t have to provide them with any sort of work benefits, which will ultimately compel freelancers to use their wages to cover the costs of health care and other expenses. These expenses pile up and may be difficult to manage in periods in which work is scarce.
Even though a freelance gig may seem like a convenient alternative to working a 9-to-5 job, it still relies on the same capitalist labor market as other occupations. In this system, workers are competing against each other to provide companies with the lowest labor costs possible, driving wages down.
Finally, it will be interesting to see how freelance work addresses problems of gender and race in the workplace. Freelance work could help eliminate institutional problems like the wage gap or employer discrimination. However, it could also further perpetuate these problems.
In the midst of these changes, it will be up to us to hold employers and clients accountable and use these developments to improve the lives of working people throughout the economy.
