Gig Economy Growth Slower Than First Thought, Profs Say

With the rise of Uber Technologies Inc., Airbnb Inc., and other alternative work arrangements, academics overinflated the potential of the gig economy, two of those very academics are now saying.

Harvard University professor Lawrence Katz and Princeton University professor Alan Krueger have found that the increase in alternative job arrangements has been more gradual than first predicted. Katz and Krueger initially predicted the number of gig workers would increase by 5 percent from 2005-2015, but the share of workers seeking alternative work arrangements has increased only about 1 percent to 2 percent in that time, according to their updated research. ...