# Gig Economy" Glut: Uber Drivers Make Less Than Minimum Wage



## Ca$h4 (Aug 12, 2015)

*https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-05-19/gig-economy-glut-uber-drivers-make-less-minimum-wage

"Gig Economy" Glut: Uber Drivers Make Less Than Minimum Wage 
 
by Tyler Durden
Sat, 05/19/2018 - 18:30
Coined shortly after the great financial crisis of 2007-2009, the so-called "gig economy" or "sharing economy" refers to the increasing list of companies like Airbnb, Doordash, Etsy, Lyft, Postmates, TaskRabbit, and Uber-platforms that hire temporary workers who provide an array of on-demand services: delivery, ridesharing, home rentals, and odd jobs.

The "gig economy" in an accurate representation of the state of the matured market [low producivity]; though the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has had difficulty counting the number of independent contractors and contingent workers, Intuit believes that "gig" workers are about 34 percent of the overall workforce, and could increase to 43 percent in the next few years.

While millions of millennials have embraced the "gig economy," a new report reveals a shocking reality that the average income of Uber drivers is much lower than minimum wage in many cities across America.










The latest figures come from the Economic Policy Institute, a non-profit think tank based in Washington, D.C that provides research on economic policies. On Tuesday, the think tank published a report claiming Uber driver compensation is around $11.77 per hour after Uber deducts fees and expenses and $10.87 per hour once Social Security/Medicare taxes are deducted. According to the report," the Uber driver "wage"-comparable to the wages (reported for employees on federal tax Form W-2) earned by regular W-2 employees-averages $9.21 an hour."

In other words, Uber drivers bring home $9.21 per hour, after Uber deducts commissions/booking fee per trip and state/federal taxes are subtracted. That shifts Uber drivers into the 10th percentile of private-sector wages, indicating drivers make less than what 90 percent of Americans earn per hour.

"The Uber driver W-2 equivalent hourly wage is roughly at the 10th percentile of all wage and salary workers' wages, meaning Uber drivers earn less than what 90 percent of workers earn. The Uber driver W-2 equivalent hourly wage falls below the mandated minimum wage in the majority of major Uber urban markets (13 of 20 major markets, which include 18 cities, a county, and a state). The Uber driver "no benefits" hourly wage or discretionary compensation-the hourly compensation adjusted for an assumption that Uber drivers pay the extra payroll taxes that the self-employed must pay but do not provide a standard benefits package for themselves-falls below the mandated minimum wage in nine of 20 major markets, including the three largest (Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York)."

Uber drivers make less than minimum wage in several cities, including Seattle, San Francisco, and New York City, as the graph below shows:










"I have long been skeptical that Uber or "gig work" represents the 'future of work' ever since it was clearly established that most Uber drivers do not drive as their main source of income, but rather do so to supplement other income sources," wrote Lawrence Mishel, a labor economist and former EPI president who authored the report.

"It's more low wage than I thought, to tell you the truth," Mishel told Quartz. "My sense is that taxi driving used to be an occupation that provided a very modest middle-class income, and that just doesn't seem to be the case anymore."

Mishel notes that the role of the "gig economy" is commonly exaggerated, and indicates "there is no basis for saying the gig economy is a major driver of economic trends."

This could be more bad news for heavily indebted millennials, where structural shifts in the economy are leading to a productivity slowdown due to a reallocation of production to service/ "gig economy" with low productivity growth. That said, with the evidence of what Uber drives make (located above), we can now dismiss the idea that Uber driving in the "gig economy" is a lucrative job.

Millions of millennials situated in the "gig economy," drowning in debt and wage stagnation are about to discover that the American dream evaporated a long time ago&#8230;


*


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## SEAL Team 5 (Dec 19, 2015)

Ca$h4 said:


> *Millions of millennials situated in the "gig economy," drowning in debt and wage stagnation are about to discover that the American dream evaporated a long time ago&#8230;*


Millennials aren't about to discover sh*t. Those ignorant idiots are constantly too stoned to know anything except likes, followers, and hashtags.


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

SEAL Team 5 said:


> Millennials aren't about to discover sh*t. Those ignorant idiots are constantly too stoned to know anything except likes, followers, and hashtags.


I've been to 19 countries and i can almost barely speak 4 languages. If these kids only knew what it was like to really be in poverty...

Maybe these idiots children will rebel and buy suits and work for a living while their hipster idiot parents drive them around for a living and live in Sub section 8 housing because it's cool to live in an asbestos ridden rat trap just because it used to be a slaughterhouse.

Wouldn't it be kind cool to wear suits just because?

And people call me a dumb grunt...


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

There oughtta be a LAW !


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## Blatherskite (Nov 30, 2016)

tohunt4me said:


> There oughtta be a LAW !


The tacit law is called unfettered capitalism, the official religion of the U.S.A. Even the 18th century industrial revolution brought about regulation and workers' unions, but the mission now is to isolate and divide workers and render them witless through AI empowered propaganda. What other kind of population would have been so easily swindled into believing Trump was a populist and not the thoroughly uneducated opportunist he is. Hey, let's keep Andrew Jackson on the $20 note! It's a new dawn in America. We're going to be great again by evenly and methodically distributing slavery through economic indenture. I'm not saying this started with Trump, but he is the chosen corporate accelerant.


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## BurgerTiime (Jun 22, 2015)

Thanks for using gigantic font I forgot my readers. And don’t share this info with the pickup truck drivers out there. They don’t wanna hear it.


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## Blatherskite (Nov 30, 2016)

BurgerTiime said:


> ...don't share this info with the pickup truck drivers out there. They don't wanna heat it.


Blue-collar small businesses are next in line after the millennial gig-worker chumps. They built their own labor camps to a Bruce Springsteen soundtrack.


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## melusine3 (Jun 20, 2016)

Ca$h4 said:


> *https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-05-19/gig-economy-glut-uber-drivers-make-less-minimum-wage*
> 
> *"Gig Economy" Glut: Uber Drivers Make Less Than Minimum Wage *
> * *
> ...


Do these geniuses know our W2/1099 (were they using actual uber employee wage w2s?) on thw 1099, Uber places ALL income from all rider payments onto the driver. This report is utter BS and I want to know exactly whose W2s thwy used . Maybe they meant 1099?


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## transporter007 (Feb 19, 2018)

So odd that anyone would find this surprising.
Ground transportation has always been Low Skill Low Wage.

Uber made it easier for unemployable car owners to use the drivers app, and hit the road to poverty.

U don't earn money with uber, you borrow money again your asset

Profit is razor thin and wiped out with the first repair, brake & tire replacement, etc


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## 25rides7daysaweek (Nov 20, 2017)

I made $2200 last week.....


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## transporter007 (Feb 19, 2018)

25rides7daysaweek said:


> I made $2200 last week.....


Typical uber driver "I made $2200 last week"
No u didn't "make" $2200.
The fact u don't know this is why 
Dara Khosrowshahi 
Loves you


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## 25rides7daysaweek (Nov 20, 2017)

transporter007 said:


> Typical uber driver "I made $2200 last week"
> No u didn't "make" $2200.
> The fact u don't know this is why
> Dara Khosrowshahi
> Loves you


Im an adult I have a car anyway. You got me though I did buy gas for my 34mpg car. I made more money than most detectives...


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## transporter007 (Feb 19, 2018)

25rides7daysaweek said:


> Im an adult I have a car anyway. You got me though I did buy gas for my 34mpg car. I made more money than most detectives...


Right right right, cause the only expense in running a car is G A S 
Dara Khosrowshahi Loves you

Bwahahahaha


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## 25rides7daysaweek (Nov 20, 2017)

When you already have one that's insured and you are making 1750-2000 a week gas and repairs dont really figure in very much. I've put brakes tires and a windshield in a year and a half. I'm about due for some shocks i guess. Still all of it wont add up to a weeks pay. Im older and My house is in suburbs so i got low insurance too. About 1/2 the income tax i have to pay gets written off by the mileage. My Car was 12000 w 4000 miles on it. I could buy a different one if i needed but its working fine for another year and a half im guessing. I'm doing just fine....


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## transporter007 (Feb 19, 2018)

25rides7daysaweek said:


> I made $2200 last week.....


Talk is cheep, let's see the screen shot of the $2.2k
and the miles driven to achieve


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## 25rides7daysaweek (Nov 20, 2017)

transporter007 said:


> Talk is cheep, let's see the screen shot of the $2.2k
> and the miles driven to achieve


I don't need to justify anything to you. You are a troll.....


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