Study: Increase in taxpayers reporting self-employment earnings cannot be attributed to increase in gig work

The emergence over the past decade of new institutions and technologies that have made it easier for firms to obtain labor from self-employed contract workers instead of employees has spurred widespread speculation that the U.S. labor market is transitioning to a gig economy. But labor force surveys show no rise in the rate of self-employment since 2000, while the share of individuals reporting self-employment income on their tax returns increased dramatically from 2000 through 2018.