Platform work offers more flexibility and better earning opportunities for millions of working Americans providing unpaid care
Today, the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) released a new report showing that on the average day, 36% of working-age Americans provide unpaid care for children, parents and other loved ones. This unpaid labor is worth $980 billion per year, according to this new report, titled “Platform Work and the Care Economy” and authored by PPI Vice President and Chief Economist Dr. Michael Mandel.
The report examines how the stress of this immense burden can be eased by the availability of flexible platform work, including companies such as Lyft, Uber, Doordash, and Instacart.
“Platform work provides an alternative that offers better scheduling and earning opportunities for unpaid caregivers,” writes Dr. Michael Mandel in the report. “Rather than requiring a choice between full-time work and no paid work at all, there is a flexible alternative.”
The report also explores the possibility that platform work may help narrow the longstanding gender gap in unpaid caregiving.
Read and download the full report:
Dr. Michael Mandel is Vice President and Chief Economist at the Progressive Policy Institute in Washington DC and senior fellow at the Mack Institute for Innovation Management at the Wharton School (UPenn). He was chief economist at BusinessWeek prior to its purchase by Bloomberg.With experience spanning policy, academics, and business, Dr. Mandel has helped lead the public conversation about the economic and business impact of technology for the past two decades. His work has been featured by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, and Financial Times, among others.
The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org.
Follow PPI on Twitter: @ppi
Find an expert at PPI.
###
Media Contact: Aaron White; awhite@ppionline.org
