The number of gig-workers is on the rise, with 84% of millennials and 81% of Generation Z considering working in or already contributing to the gig-economy.[1] The rapid growth of gig-working, whether that be to supplement income or as a main stream of revenue, has lead to an increase in demand for jobs and workers in certain sectors.
Utilising reports collated by the AppJobs Institute, here is a list of the best industries for and to find on-demand staff based on factors such as the average pay and customer availability within the sector:
1. Massage Therapy.
It is no surprise that massage therapy is the top category, with this sector having the second-highest customer availability. In addition, massage therapy comes out on top as the easiest sector to begin working in [2], making it a popular choice for workers and therefore easy to recruit gig-workers.
2. Healthcare/Medical Jobs.
In 2018, for the first time in history, the number of people aged 65 and over has overtaken the number of children under 5 globally [3]. As the population is ageing, the amount of care service providers has grown to cater. While these types of jobs may be less available than Massage therapy jobs, the earnings are very good: scoring a 4.55 out of 5. The pay that comes with these jobs, as well as a good customer base, means that health and medical care jobs rank highly among gig-workers.
3. Local Guiding.
Local guiding has the greatest customer availability of any of the categories available on AppJobs. These jobs are low in supply, but high in demand with an average of 1.4 billion international arrivals worldwide per year [4], making it a good industry to recruit in.
4. Delivery.
Currently, 1/5 of the population in Europe operate in the delivery sector [5], with this sector encompassing courier services to food delivery. The rise of services such as Foodora and other food delivery services, with over five of the top companies in this sector estimated to be worth over $1 billion [6]. Clearly, there is a high demand for services within the delivery sector.
5. Pet Sitting/Walking.
It is currently estimated that there are over 1 billion pets worldwide [7], which has lead to the creation of an industry to support this. Many treat their animals as they would their children, meaning that there is a huge market to tap into, with a 2015 poll of American pet owners finding that 95% consider their pet to be a part of the family [8]. With many wanting pets but not being able to commit, this is a great sector to source gig-workers.
Currently, more than 70% of freelancers are finding jobs through online markets and gig economy websites such as AppJobs: this makes it a better time than ever to get recruiting online.