Currently there is no universally accepted or official definition of the gig economy or gig workers. The characteristics of gig workers that we focus on in this report (self-employed individuals who perform single projects or tasks on demand for pay) share some characteristics with self- employment as it is understood by other federal agencies, but our characterization does not directly align with those agencies’ views. Although other definitions have been used to measure the number of gig workers, our focus was on the non-occupational skills and training needed by workers who participate in gig work. We characterized gig workers as being self-employed and who participate in gig work part-time or full-time. However, not all self-employed individuals are gig workers. For example, we did not consider self-employed individuals who own their own storefront business, such as a restaurant owner, as gig workers because they do not generally work on a project basis. However, our characterization would include a caterer who works on a project basis with multiple clients. At the same time, however, we excluded project- based workers who are not self-employed, such as those who are employees of a staffing agency. As the centerpiece of the federal government’s workforce system, the purposes of WIOA include the following: (1) provide individuals, particularly those with barriers to employment, increased access to and opportunities for employment, education, training, and support services to succeed in the labor market; (2) provide America’s workers with the skills and credentials necessary to secure and advance in employment with family-sustaining wages; and (3) provide activities through the state and local workforce development systems to increase the employment, retention, earnings, and economic self-sufficiency of participants; among other purposes. Programs administered by DOL and Education provide services such as job search assistance, career counseling, occupational skills training, classroom training, and on-the-job training. In addition, WIOA provides for a workforce system that is accessible to all job seekers to make it easier for them to access the services they need to obtain skills and employment. Basic career services include eligibility determinations, initial skill assessments, and program referrals. WIOA also provides for state workforce development boards (state boards) to help oversee a system of over 550 local workforce development boards (local boards) that, in turn, deliver services through a network of over 2,400 American Job Centers. Under WIOA, state and local boards have the flexibility to respond to the needs of their local labor markets, which they do, in part, through the analysis of local labor market information. Federal funding under WIOA for core programs is allocated to states using statutory formulas that, in part, generally reflect state and local unemployment data. According to DOL, in program year 2017, total appropriated funding for activities related to Adult and Dislocated Worker programs and Wagner-Peyser Employment Services was more than $2.7 billion. Local boards may also leverage other funding sources, such as DOL discretionary grants and state and local government funding, among other sources. WIOA included new performance measures for states and local areas generally related to participants who exit WIOA programs. These include the percentage of participants employed in unsubsidized employment in the second and fourth quarters after program exit, and median earnings in unsubsidized employment in the second quarter after exit, among other measures. Generally, performance outcome targets are negotiated between DOL’s regional offices and state workforce boards and take into consideration the characteristics of the job seekers being served as well as the local labor market conditions. Both states and local areas are subject to certain consequences for failing to achieve their negotiated targets. To support performance outcomes, states must use, consistent with state law, quarterly wage records to verify participants’ employment and earnings. States typically satisfy this requirement by using their Unemployment Insurance (UI) wage record data. Earnings from self- employment, however, are generally not included in state UI wage records because self-employed workers are not considered to be in employment that is covered by the unemployment insurance system. In these cases, boards are allowed to use supplemental wage information— for example, case management notes, administrative records, and surveys of participants, among other things—to support employment and earnings outcomes. DOL has long encouraged workforce boards to provide entrepreneurship and self-employment training by funding several projects and grants to demonstrate the role of the workforce development system in this area (see table 1). DOL also provides technical assistance to workforce boards through online training, other training events, and its WorkforceGPS website. WorkforceGPS is an interactive online platform designed to build the capacity of the public workforce system through knowledge sharing. It offers resources, peer-to-peer connections, and supplements other technical assistance efforts. SBA also has programs that provide support and training to self- employed workers, including the following: Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) – SBDCs, with more than 900 service delivery points, provide training and technical assistance to current or prospective business owners. SCORE Association – SCORE is a nationwide, nonprofit organization of working and retired business executives who donate time to counsel and provide workshops for small business owners. Women’s Business Centers (WBCs) – WBCs are a national network that provides educational resources to help women start and grow successful small businesses. Because there is no universally accepted definition of gig work, characteristics of individuals engaging in this work and the types of work they perform depend on how this population is studied. Each of the three quantitative studies we reviewed defined their population of workers, type of work performed, and time frames of work performed differently. Therefore, each study provides a snapshot of this emerging area, and their results are not directly comparable (see table 2). According to the studies we reviewed, up to about 40 percent of workers engaging in online gig or informal work were 34 years old or younger. The JPMorgan Chase Institute (JPMorgan Chase) study found that 43 percent of account holders participating in online labor platforms were 18-34 years old. The Pew Research Center study found that an estimated 42 percent of gig workers were 18-29 years old, whereas 19 percent of participants were 50 years old or older. Similarly, the Federal Reserve Board (Federal Reserve) found that an estimated 41 percent of those completing tasks through online platforms were under age 30. The JPMorgan Chase and Pew Research Center studies found online gig workers to have relatively lower incomes. Specifically, the JPMorgan Chase study found that their bank account owners who earned income through online labor platforms from October 2012 through September 2015 had lower median monthly incomes ($2,514) than the JPMorgan Chase study population labor force at large ($3,351). The Pew Research Center study had similar results with an estimated 49 percent of online gig workers making a family income of $30,000 or less annually, whereas only 14 percent of those made $75,000 or more. On the other hand, the Federal Reserve estimated that almost half (about 45 percent) of those completing online tasks through websites had an annual family income greater than $75,000. Some individuals who participate in gig work are also engaged in other employment or are students. According to the Pew Research Center study, an estimated two-thirds of online gig workers indicated that they were employed either full- or part-time in another position, and 23 percent were enrolled as either full- or part-time students. The Federal Reserve study estimated that approximately half of those performing online tasks through websites reported that they were also paid employees, with about an additional 10 percent reporting that they were self-employed. According to the studies we reviewed, gig work is performed in a range of occupations, and at various skill levels. The Pew Research Center study reported that the types of work found through online platforms varied between physical tasks, simple online tasks, or relatively complex tasks. For example, according to the Pew Research Center, the estimated 8 percent of Americans who earned money in the last year through online job platforms performed at least one of the following tasks: online tasks through digital job platforms, such as data entry or taking surveys (an estimated 5 percent); ride-hailing services (an estimated 2 percent); and shopping for or delivering household items, or by cleaning or doing laundry for a client (an estimated 1 percent each); and other types of work taken on through online platforms (an estimated 2 percent). This work ranged from relatively basic tasks, such as moving furniture or working as a parking lot attendant, to more highly- specialized work, such as providing legal services, manuscript editing, or IT consulting. According to three researchers we interviewed, recent attention has been paid to online gig work, but a larger number of individuals are participating in offline gig work. The Federal Reserve examined characteristics of survey respondents who engaged in various types of online and offline gig work. Online gig work included completing tasks that were identified or mediated through online platforms. Offline gig work included house cleaning, house painting, yard or landscaping work; babysitting and/or child care services; and personal services such as picking up dry cleaning, providing moving assistance, and dog walking; among other services. Workers’ motivations for engaging in gig work included filling gaps in income and accommodation of work schedule preferences, according to the two studies for which we obtained survey results. The JPMorgan Chase study reviewed the bank deposits of individuals in the months that they were actively participating in online platform work. This analysis found that earnings from online labor platforms tended to offset dips in other sources of income; therefore, the researchers suggested that individuals used earnings from the online labor platforms to substitute for reductions in other sources of earnings and in periods where workers were between jobs.