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The Online Platform Economy adds an important new element to existing labor markets, however. Simply put, landing a platform job is easier and quicker. Individuals can, and do, generate additional income on labor platforms in a timely fashion when they experience a dip in regular earnings. This is a potentially far better option to mitigate or weather volatility, if the alternatives are to constrain spending or take on additional credit. Moreover, this option meets a target need. Participation in labor platforms is highest precisely among those who experience the highest levels of income volatility—the young, the poor, and individuals living in the West.

In the JPMorgan Chase Institute’s report Paychecks, Paydays, and the Online Platform Economy, we documented that 4 percent of adults earned income from the Online Platform Economy between October 2012 and September 2015. Despite the tremendous growth in participation in the Online Platform Economy—a 47-fold increase over three years—these online “gigs” remained a secondary source of income for most people. In months when individuals earned platform income, labor platforms, such as Uber or TaskRabbit where individuals perform discrete tasks or assignments, contributed 33 percent of total monthly income, and capital platforms, such as eBay or Airbnb where individuals sell goods or rent assets, contributed 20 percent of total monthly income.

Although 1 percent of adults earned income from the Online Platform Economy in a given month, more than 4 percent participated over the three-year period.