WASHINGTON–Any credit union that has reviewed a loan application knows that increasingly applicants are earning a living as part of the so-called “gig economy” and likely doesn’t hold a steady position.
Now new research offers some insights into people who work from gig to gig and how they perceive home ownership. Approximately 16% of Americans are gig economy workers.
The “gig economy,” the term for an on-demand economy for services such as ride sharing, accommodation sharing, and others, is having an impact on many consumers’ attitudes, according to Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research Group.
In a new Special Topic study, Fannie Mae said it found:
- Nearly one-fifth of American adults work in the gig economy. Most are employed full-time and college educated, and about half make $50,000 or more per year in total.
- Millennials are more likely than older age groups to have offered more than one gig economy service.
- Gig economy workers report increased household incomes and have a more positive financial outlook than non-gig economy workers.
- But while gig economy workers who rent are about as likely to say homeownership makes more sense than renting, they are actually less optimistic than non-gig renters that they will buy a home on their next move.
- Most gig economy workers who rent think it would be difficult to get a mortgage, and cite down payment and credit as the biggest obstacles to getting one.