download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. However, the laborers behind the surging industry face conditions similar to those in the country's factories, facing low wages, long hours, and risky, repetitive work, according to numerous reports. Lu, a 19-year-old Meituan delivery driver in Guangzhou, told Nikkei Asia he earned just 7 yuan per delivery, less than a dollar. In the US, delivery drivers average $17.10 per hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They "know it is impossible to deliver in the time expected by the platform," Tiziano Bonini from the University of Siena, who has been studying gig work in China, told the outlet.

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Persons: —, Lu, Meituan, Didi Chuxing, SCMP Organizations: Service, Nikkei Asia, Business, Economic Research, Wired, Bureau of Labor Statistics, China Morning, Ministry of Human Resources, Social Security, University of Siena Locations: China, Guangzhou, Guanzhou, Shanghai