A new study of pay on apps such as Instacart and DoorDash finds that gig delivery workers make less than minimum wage on average in Seattle, after factoring in expenses.
The labor group Working Washington released the report on Wednesday, before a Seattle City Council committee vote next week on legislation to improve wages and job standards for gig workers.
The study is the latest attempt at quantifying how much gig workers actually make on the job. Seattle approved a minimum wage standard for Uber and Lyft drivers in 2020, following conflicting reports on worker pay that highlighted the complexities of establishing a minimum wage for gig workers.
The study crowdsourced job reports from 400 workers, finding that they earn $9.58/hour on average after expenses and before tips. Even with tips, about half of gig jobs yielded net earnings below minimum wage.
The minimum wage in Seattle is $17.27 for most workers, though people who receive tips and work at companies with 500 or fewer employees can be paid $15.75.
“The exclusion of gig workers from basic protections like minimum wage is the latest in a long history of excluding particular groups of workers from labor standards,” said Working Washington in a statement announcing the report.
According to a recent study by Pew Research Center, 30% of Hispanic and 20% of Black adults have earned money on gig apps, compared to 16% of adults in the U.S. overall.
Working Washington is behind the PayUp campaign to establish a pay floor...
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