gig economy

noun

: economic activity that involves the use of temporary or freelance workers to perform jobs typically in the service sector

One reason the gig economy has taken off: People tend to change jobs more frequently and many enjoy the flexibility of choosing when and where they work.

—Marcia Pledger

While they are still able to work, boomers will be a big part of a subset of the sharing economy that is sometimes called the "gig economy." Gigs are what they sound like: assignments, contracts or part-time jobs.

—Linda Nazareth

Examples of gig economy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Europol investigators have found that violence is now being sold as part of the gig economy and being enabled by a world that’s always online. —ABC News, 12 June 2026

Wage growth for blue-collar workers in China has outpaced that of their white-collar peers for six consecutive years, in a sign of the country’s booming gig economy. —J.d. Capelouto, semafor.com, 7 June 2026

Such techniques have been honed in the gig economy more broadly to algorithmically set different wages for different employees doing the same work. —Sarita Gupta, Time, 2 June 2026

Clarke is a freelancer staying afloat in the gig economy. —Literary Hub, 19 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

gig entry 1

First Known Use

2009, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gig economy

• deuteronomy
• aeronomy
• agronomy
• astronomy
• autonomy
• gastronomy
• metonymy
• taxonomy