TITLE:
On-Demand Work in the Gig Economy: The Experience of Young Immigrants in Quebec
AUTHORS:
Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay, Marie Hélène Yao
KEYWORDS:
On-Demand Work, Gig Economy, Uberization, Precarity, Youth, Immigrants
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.12 No.8,
August
23,
2024
ABSTRACT: Changes in the labor market primarily affect young people, and new forms of work associated with the Gig economy and the “uberization” phenomenon have significant impacts on young workers, particularly young immigrants. This results in major consequences in terms of job precarity and engagement, or new forms of engagement in work and employment. The prevalence of precarious employment affects all young people, but especially young immigrants or those from immigrant families. Our aim was to analyze this employment situation which manifests itself in specific sectors like digital mobility and delivery services, which we have studied. Our theoretical framework is based on labor market segmentation, and refers to issues of precarity and access to the labor market, particularly the debate about whether precarious jobs serve as bridges to better employment or traps that do not allow access to permanent or at least regular employment. The research method is qualitative, based on 22 interviews, with 17 men and 5 women, as there is a predominance of men in these jobs. The results show that this on-demand employment situation leads to limited work engagement, as this type of job is seen not only as temporary but also unlikely to serve as a “bridge” to better employment and professional integration, resulting in some disengagement among young people who take these jobs during their studies and early attempts to enter the labor market.