Is Your Next Job A Text or Tweet Away?

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Many people in today’s society are earning their income in a “pay per job” market. As of 2016, around twenty to thirty percent of the working age population has earned money outside of a typical salaried or hourly pay job. Why do you think this statistic has increased so much over the years? Now read the Tampa Bay Times article below to discover more about the "gig" economy.

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The job industry is thriving with entrepreneurial growth. Uber, Lyft, AirBnB, DoorDash and Postmates are just some of the opportunities that allow individuals to earn money around their own schedules, rather than that of their employer. When individuals earn wages on a “individual contract basis,” what does the worker need to take into account? After reading the article below, consider: How has technology changed the job market? Are technological changes helping or hurting the job market? As a student looking for a part time job, free-lance work or gigging may be great opportunities. Create a resume of your work experience, leadership and current responsibilities that show your marketability for an independent contract job. Investigate your earning with a gig job and compare to a local fast-food restaurant’s hourly wage. What can you find out?

Extension: Act as employer and write an ad for a job in a “gig economy.” Make sure to identify both the job qualifications and the personal qualities you need in your employee.
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Florida Financial Literacy Standards:
SS.912.FL.1.1 Discuss that people choose jobs or careers for which they are qualified based on non-income factors, such as job satisfaction, independence, risk, family, or location.

SS.912.FL.1.2 Explain that people vary in their willingness to obtain more education or training because these decisions involve incurring immediate costs to obtain possible future benefits. Describe how discounting the future benefits of education and training may lead some people to pass up potentially high rates of return that more education and training may offer.
SS.912.FL.1.3 Evaluate ways people can make more informed education, job, or career decisions by evaluating the benefits and costs of different choices.
SS.912.FL.1.5 Discuss reasons why changes in economic conditions or the labor market can cause changes in a worker’s income or may cause unemployment.

Florida Economics Standards:
SS.912.E.1.9 Describe how the earnings of workers are determined.