今天, the 澳博官方网站app 研究所 produced new research exploring the relationship between participation on the platform economy and involuntary 失业, 失业救济金的发放就说明了这一点. While fewer than one percent of Americans experiencing 失业 participate in the Online Platform Economy, the data show participation on 运输 apps increases 72 percent around the receipt of unemployment benefits. Participation in 销售 platforms similarly increases 27 percent following involuntary 失业.

“Understanding how families use the Online Platform Economy to smooth their income in the face of major cash flow events is critical to understanding the role of these platforms in our economy,戴安娜·法雷尔说, 澳博官方网站app研究所总裁兼首席执行官. “的 $150-$250 that these families earn on platforms following 失业 is being used as a crucial shock absorber for financial volatility.”

的 report builds on previous research from the 澳博官方网站app 研究所 on the Online Platform Economy, exploring where Americans are earning income and how earnings from platforms figure into family income. 新的报告，”Bridging the Gap: How Families Use the Online Platform Economy to Manage their Cash Flow，发现:

• Families turn to the Online Platform Economy when they lose a job and turn away from it when they gain a full-time job, particularly turning to 运输 or 销售 platforms to supplement income. 
  • Transportation platform participation rates increase from 0.43%到0%.74 percent around the receipt of unemployment insurance benefits—an increase of 72 percent. Participation rates on 销售 platforms increase from 0.22%到0.28%，增长了27%.
  • Participation on 运输 platforms declines sharply in the weeks leading up to a family receiving a first direct payroll deposit from a new employer from a peak of 1.1 percent seven weeks before the first direct deposit to 0.第一次直接存款后.
• 的 Online Platform Economy is a more potent income-smoothing tool for men than women. 
  • When a family begins collecting unemployment insurance, platform participation increases from 0.7 percent ten weeks prior to 1 percent if the primary account holder is a woman, and to 1.如果是男性，则为2%. 的se translate to proportional increases of 43 percent and 60 percent, respectively.
  • 的re is no apparent evidence of men turning to one sector and women turning to another, with both men and women turning primarily to the 运输 sector.
    
  • 每位司机的平均收入, 男女平均收入差距在30美元左右, remain stable in the weeks leading up to a first unemployment insurance payment. Notably, the gap increases to about $50 in the weeks after.
• 不像工作状态的变化, tax-related cash flows have no effect on participation in the Online Platform Economy.
  • Tax refunds 和纳税s do not catalyze changes in participation in the Online Platform Economy, other than a dip in driver participation in the week when a tax refund is received.

的 research leverages the 澳博官方网站app 研究所 Online Platform Economy Dataset, based on 38 million payments directed through 128 different online platforms to 2.300万不同的账户持有人, 在3900万的样本中, 2012年10月至2018年3月. 的 new report tracks how Online Platform Economy participation rates and average weekly platform revenues evolve cash flow events. In total the report tracks five specific events in 2016 and 2017: a family receiving its first direct deposit from a platform company indicating entry into the Online Platform Economy, 失业, 工作获得, 退税收据, 和纳税.

To identify trends and differentiate the types of work taking place in the platform economy, the 澳博官方网站app 研究所 has identified four different platform sectors:

1. 的 运输 部门，其中 司机 运送人或货物;
2. 的 non-transport工作 部门，其中 工人 offer a growing variety of services including dog walking, 回家修理, 远程医疗, 还有许多其他的;
3. 的 销售 部门，其中独立 卖家 of goods find buyers through online marketplaces; and
4. 的 租赁 部门，其中 出租 find lessees to rent homes, parking spaces, and many other types of assets.