Labor market analysts in Sarnia-Lambton are trying to better understand how the area’s gig economy functions.
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“One of the things that we don’t have is data on gig workers in terms of who are they? What jobs are they working in? But even more so, why are they doing gig work?” said Mikelle Bryson-Campbell, executive director of the Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board.
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The government-funded agency is conducting a survey until the end of November, she said, asking local gig economy workers to weigh in about who they are, what they do and why.
“We know the participation study we did, some of the folks who weren’t working were doing so because a spouse was making enough money and they didn’t have to work,” she said, referring to the 2022 study that found Sarnia- Lambton’s rate of participation in the workforce is among the lowest in Ontario.
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The rationale of not needing regular employment, if a partner is making enough solo, might also apply to gig workers, Bryson-Campbell said.
Employment and Social Development Canada notes gig work — casual work arrangements like short-term contracts — has been on the rise since 2005doubling to around 10 per cent of all Canadian workers by 2020.
A recent Statistics Canada study found about 250,000 people in Canada last year performed gig work through digital platforms, including rideshare and delivery services.
Finding out the state of gig work in Sarnia-Lambton could help local employers better respond to fill job positions, Bryson-Campbell said.
That could include creating more flexible hours in existing positions or making full- or part-time positions with regular hours more appealing, she said.
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Targeting skills training to match employers with job seekers is a big piece, she said, noting gig workers also include the self-employed, freelancers, day laborers and independent contractors.
Delivery drivers with their own vehicles, or photographers with their own equipment are examples of workers that could have shorter-term contracts with numerous people or companies, she said.
A report on the survey’s findings is expected in January, she said.
“This is out of a new area,” she said.
“Especially through COVID, we started hearing a bit more about people who were looking for more flexibility or looking at gaining more income.”
To take the survey, visit slwdb.org.
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