Surviving, but not thriving? Lives of immigrants in the platform economy

In recent years, various forms of gig and platform work are becoming increasingly prevalent. In general, little is known about the demographics of workers in the gig economy and more specifically, the platform economy, and why they chose to pursue it.

This research is a qualitative study using in-depth semi-structured interviews to understand the decision-making processes that immigrants go through when deciding to engage in the platform economy. This study aims to uncover the antecedents and consequences of immigrants working in the platform economy. The findings indicate that the challenges of the Canadian labour market pushed immigrants into platform work – these challenges brought out the attractiveness of the platform economy. Immigrants viewed platform work as transitionary in nature, a necessary step to achieve greater financial stability and skills-appropriate employment.

Keywords: platform economy, gig economy, immigrants, precarious employment, technology, on-demand economy, labour mobility