Understanding Trends in Alternative Work Arrangements in the United States

Abstract

This article discusses trends in alternative work arrangements in the United States using data from the Contingent Worker Survey (CWS) supplements to the Current Population Survey (CPS) for 1995 to 2017, the 2015 RAND-Princeton Contingent Work Survey, and administrative tax data from the Internal Revenue Service for 2000 to 2016. Based on cyclically adjusted comparisons of the CPS CWS, measures using self-respondents in the CPS CWS, and measures of self-employment and 1099 workers from administrative tax data, we conclude that there has likely been a modest upward trend in the share of the U.S. workforce in alternative work arrangements during the 2000s. We also present evidence from Amazon Mechanical Turk suggesting that the basic monthly CPS question on multiple job holding misses many instances of multiple job holding.