WASHINGTON (AP) — Online gig work is growing globally, particularly in the developing world, creating an important source of employment for women and young people in poorer countries where jobs are scarce, according to a World Bank report released Thursday. The report estimates the number of global online gig workers at as many as 435 million people and says demand for gig work increased 41% between 2016 and the first quarter of 2023. That boost is generating concern, though, among worker rights advocates about the lack of strong job protections in the gig economy, where people work job to job with little security and few employment rights. While location-based gig services such as Uber, Lyft and TaskRabbit require labor like moving and delivery, online gig assignments can be largely done at home. Roughly half of the surveyed gig workers did not have a retirement plan and as much as 73% of Venezuelan gig workers and 75% of Nigerians did not have any savings for retirement.

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Persons: ”, Namita Datta, Sharon Block, Lindsey Cameron, Uber, ” Block Organizations: WASHINGTON, —, Bank, World Bank, Harvard Law School’s Center for Labor, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, ”, Pew Locations: U.S, United States, Egypt, Argentina, Nigeria, Russia, China