America’s job market is cooling down, and more people are turning to gig work to make ends meet. In fact, a new report from Goldman Sachs (GS) shows that gig jobs offered by food delivery companies like Uber (UBER), DoorDash (DASH), and Instacart (CART) are staying strong even as regular payroll jobs slow down. More precisely, about 1 in 5 people who lost income, had hours cut, or were laid off are now using gig platforms to earn money. This trend comes as the government gets ready to release September’s delayed jobs report, which is expected to show more signs of weakness in the labor market.
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Goldman’s research found that gig work increased the most in places where regular job growth slowed down, as people picked up extra shifts to cover their losses. At the same time, job cut numbers are rising. In October alone, over 153,000 job cuts were announced, which was the worst October since 2003, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Payroll company ADP (ADP) reported that private employers were cutting about 11,250 jobs a week in late October, even though earlier data had shown a slight gain. Altogether, over 1.1 million layoffs have been announced in 2025 so far.
This helps explain why the gig economy is becoming a safety net. However, it’s not a complete fix. Goldman found that around 15% of people marked as unemployed or not in the workforce are actually doing gig jobs. These roles often pay less—about 50% to 65% of what workers made in their old jobs—and rarely offer benefits or steady hours. Even though wages for gig workers have gone up slightly in some areas due to less immigration, many workers still feel the squeeze. Goldman warned that while gig work helps in normal times, it wouldn’t be enough to support everyone if a recession hits.
Which Gig Work Stock Is the Better Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, out of the three gig work stocks mentioned above, analysts think that DASH stock has the most room to run. In fact, DASH’s average price target of $287.22 per share implies more than 36% upside potential. On the other hand, analysts expect the least from CART stock, as its average price target of $50.75 equates to a gain of 22.4%.
