gig worker

noun

plural gig workers

: a person who works temporary jobs typically in the service sector as an independent contractor or freelancer : a worker in the gig economy

Gig workers have freedoms that most full-timers only dream of: setting their own hours, working from home, being their own bosses. No wonder the gig economy comprised 16 percent of all workers by 2015, according to research by economists Lawrence Katz and Alan Krueger.

—Andy Sullivan

In addition to having more stable space, the affluent often have greater latitude to remain inside it. They can work on Zoom, shop on Amazon and have gig workers deliver meals.

—Jason DeParle

Examples of gig worker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While attending school, Muñoz worked physically demanding jobs, as a structural concrete laborer and a gig worker in warehouses, that didn’t offer stability and often necessitated long commutes. —Stacie Stukin, ARTnews.com, 24 Dec. 2024

Earlier this year, WIRED published a fascinating investigation into the world of gig workers who get paid to impersonate top-earning OnlyFans creators in online chats with their fans. —Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 11 Dec. 2024

Content creators are gig workers with a fancier job description, operating like an army of freelance one-person marketing firms, navigating an industry where just about anything goes. —Michelle Weber, Longreads, 27 Nov. 2024

From Gig to Corporate: Workforce Migration in a New Era Prediction: Economic pressures and changes to healthcare access may drive gig workers back to traditional employment arrangements. —Solange Charas, Forbes, 24 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

2009, in the meaning defined above