Market and Competitive Trends of Gig Works.

"Gig Economy" refers to a way of working in which short-term jobs are contracted through the Internet, and the economic activity that arises from this. Originally, "Gig" meant the term used by performers to play once as guests at live houses. "Gig economy" is a term that has been used in the United States since around 2015, and has attracted attention for services such as Internet-mediated dispatching and home delivery services, as well as for various jobs such as software development and creative work. It is a sector of the sharing economy, and is sometimes called "skill sharing." The gig economy is one form of diversification of individual working styles, and its widespread use is expected in Japan as well, amid labor reform, greater tolerance for side jobs and multiple jobs, and an increasing number of freelancers. Economic magazines, for example, have featured "gig workers" (workers in the gig economy) on their cover pages, increasing the level of attention in Japan. Gig workers are diverse, including independent freelancers, individual business owners, students and housewives, and businesspeople with full-time jobs. The number is increasing every year, and in recent years more than 60 million people in the United States have been engaged in gig work, including side jobs, it has been reported. In Japan, the population utilizing the free time has increased due to the popularization of remote work due to the spread of COVID-19 and the expansion of tolerance for side jobs and multiple jobs as part of labor reform, and the population of freelancers remains high, at 15.77 million people (source: Lancers<4484> "New Freelance Reality Survey 2021-2022 Edition"). This is equivalent to 22.8% of the production-age population of 69.17 million people (2021), or one in five people can be considered a freelancer. Moreover, working styles are changing from the perspective of side jobs and multiple jobs. According to the Job Research Institute's "Survey on the Actual Conditions of Side Jobs and Multiple Jobs 2023," 22.6% of respondents said they were currently engaged in side jobs or multiple jobs, and a certain number were starting to work in multiple jobs. Moreover, the "potential side job population" who answered "I want to do side jobs or multiple jobs in the future" reached 85.5%. These changes are also influenced by labor reform and the spread of telework since around 2019, as well as talent shortages in various industries and the spread of COVID-19.

The background of market growth is the existence of matching sites and apps that are convenient for working whenever you need to do so, and the important role of platform provider companies. The leading companies in the world's gig economy are platformers such as Uber Technologies and Upwork headquartered in the United States. Many domestic companies are also engaged in gig economy-related businesses (skill sharing businesses), in addition to this company, CloudWorks, Lancers, Bizasuku<4490>, Kokonara<4176>, Minna no Market Co., Ltd. (operating "Kurashi no Market") and others are applicable.

(Written by FISCO Guest Analyst, Hideo Kakuta)