What is this segment of short-term, app-based, or freelance work commonly called?

The gig economy describes work arranged through short-term jobs, freelance contracts, or app-based tasks rather than a permanent full-time position with an employer. Ride-hailing drivers, delivery couriers, and freelance designers or writers are all part of it, since they get paid per task or trip rather than a regular salary, and apps handle the matching between workers and customers automatically.

The informal sector generally refers to unregulated, often cash-based work that exists outside official taxation and labor law, which overlaps with but isn't identical to app-based gig work. A cottage industry describes small-scale production done from home, historically for goods rather than services, which doesn't capture the app-driven, on-demand nature of gig work.

Gig work offers flexible hours and low barriers to entry, but it has pushed many governments to debate new rules for classifying workers as employees versus independent contractors, since that status determines who gets benefits like health insurance or paid leave.