Why Canadians are gravitating to the gig economy

Time was when freelance work was for migrant farm workers or a stopgap for people between jobs. The gig economy is real and is growing, this report from BMO Financial Group confirms. It's easy to see why companies would want to operate this way: you can easily scale up or down as the workload...

Time was when freelance work was for migrant farm labourers or a stopgap for people between jobs. The gig economy is real and is growing, a new report from BMO Financial Group confirms. It’s easy to see why companies would want to operate this way: you can easily scale up or down as the workload ebbs and flows, and there are no benefits to pay. But a surprising number of respondents to BMO’s survey choose the gig lifestyle. Older workers like the autonomy; younger ones want to augment the income from their day jobs. At the same time, they’re well aware of the drawbacks, notably the lack of benefits. The bank offers a few smart strategies for coping with the uncertainties of this form of employment.