According to one driver, Uber is a great way to earn extra income on the side when having a full-time job. He lost his opportunity to earn extra money during the pandemic, which is when he found Uber. 

Many people are in need of extra income while running their own business or just an extra income to help save money and pay bills.

"It was always to have that extra money just recently, just to have that extra money to do things that I like to do," Polinario Paz, a part-time Uber Eats driver, said about driving. "I'm a musician, so I will find instruments. I'm also more used to like handyman stuff and going in to fix people's houses and things like that, so it helps when it comes to buying extra stuff."

The Hamilton Project report that ‘gig work was especially valued by workers seeking income during an extended job search.'

"In addition, workers themselves might find contingent work advantageous," the Hamilton Project framing paper reported.

A survey commissioned by the Freelancers Union and Upwork projects that by 2027, half of the U.S. workforce would be made up of gig workers.

The 2020 study revealed that "59 million Americans performed freelance work in the past 12 months, representing 36% of the U.S. workforce, an increase of 2 million freelancers since 2019."

Between 2015 and 2018, the number of people using ride-hailing apps like Uber more than doubled, according to a Pew Research Center survey.

Gig work in the U.S. accounted for more than $1.4 trillion in income for workers by the end of 2018, PYMNTS reported.