Any time you use a rideshare app, order food for delivery or hire musicians for a party, you’re contributing to a growing financial sector: the gig economy.

Several North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) sectors contribute to the gig economy, which relies on workers who provide on-demand work, services or goods. Most of these sectors are included in the U.S. Census Bureau’s Nonemployer Statistics (NES) economic program.

NES is the most comprehensive public source of data on the gig economy, which is a subset of the nonemployer universe and primarily consists of individual (sole) proprietorships. Sole proprietorships make up a large portion (approximately 86.4%) of nonemployers and of the total number of establishments in the U.S. economy (67.8%). Note that not all nonemployer businesses are included in the gig economy.

Industries contributing to the gig economy include, but are not limited to, those listed in the graphic below such as Taxi and Limousine Service, Couriers and Messengers, and Special Food Services.

For nonemployer industries that likely have gig activity, the five industries with the largest number of individual proprietorships in 2023 were:

• Couriers and Messengers (1,430,708).
• Taxi and Limousine Services (1,355,360).
• Janitorial Services (1,072,010).
• Independent Artists, Writers and Performers (1,043,306).
• Child Care Services (529,554).

Just five years earlier, according to the 2018 NES, the top five industries that likely had gig activity by number of individual proprietorships were:

• Taxi and Limousine Services (1,179,167).
• Janitorial Services (935,128).
• Independent Artists, Writers and Performers (907,569).
• Child Care Services (585,886).
• Landscaping Services (434,554).

Individual proprietorships in these industries generated approximately $152.6 billion in receipts in 2023.

The top nonemployer industries by receipts for individual proprietorships that likely had gig activity in 2023 were:

• Taxi and Limousine Services ($39.9 billion).
• Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers ($25.4 billion).
• Janitorial Services ($20.0 billion).
• Couriers and Messengers ($18.7 billion).
• Landscaping Services ($15.3 billion).

Data from the 2018 NES show that the top five nonemployer industries that likely had gig activity by receipts for individual proprietorships nationally were:

• Taxi and Limousine Services ($24.6 billion).
• Independent Artists, Writers and Performers ($18.9 billion).
• Janitorial Services ($14.0 billion).
• Landscaping Services ($10.8 billion).
• Child Care Services ($9.1 billion).

The biggest change in terms of receipts: By 2023, Child Care Services had dropped off of the top five industries with gig activity and Couriers and Messengers had made the list.

This economy is also called the “sharing” or “access” economy but “gig” is the most popular name. Where does that term come from? It has musical roots, referring to bands hired for short-term jobs or gigs.