{"id":52634,"date":"2024-09-30T16:18:29","date_gmt":"2024-09-30T08:18:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-my-161844363.ap-southeast-1.elb.amazonaws.com\/articles\/?p=52634"},"modified":"2024-09-30T19:19:14","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T11:19:14","slug":"gig-workers-income","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/gig-workers-income","title":{"rendered":"Gig Workers Reveal How Much They Can Make"},"content":{"rendered":"

Accoding to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) statistics, there are almost <\/span>four million people working in the gig economy<\/span><\/a> in Malaysia.<\/span><\/p>\n

The sheer amount of workers working in the gig economy has increased drastically in the last decade. This is despite the fact that working a gig job means sacrificing a lot of the stability that comes with a normal 9-5 job.\u00a0 Most gig jobs do not cover EPF contributions, SOCSO protection, and other benefits that come with formal full time employment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But for others who are in the know, the massive amount of workers in the gig economy does not come as a surprise, as we hear about gig economy workers, like ehailing drivers <\/span>earning up to four figure sums<\/span>\u00a0per week from gig jobs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Is a gig economy job still worth it today? What about sustainability and stability? To answer this question, we spoke to two gig economy workers to see the true reality behind working in the gig economy, and what they think the future holds for them.<\/span><\/p>\n

First, we spoke to Helmi, a full-time Grab driver who operates in the Klang Valley.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cI can make around RM5,000-RM7,000 per month\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u201cUsually I\u2019ll leave my house in Wangsa Maju at 6am, as this is the only time I can catch passengers who\u2019re looking for rides to public transport stations, such as the LRT station or the MRT station.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFrom there, I don\u2019t really have a specific place or area that I cover, as I go from ride to ride. So, where I end up might vary a lot from day to day. However, I do try my best to keep it strictly within the Klang Valley area, so I don\u2019t really take jobs that require me to drive too far away from my house as if I end up too far from my house it\u2019ll add to my cost.<\/span><\/p>\n

12-hour work shift<\/h4>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll usually work all the way up to around 1PM to 2PM, where I\u2019ll take a 30 minute break to have lunch. After my lunch, I\u2019ll usually work until around 6PM, where I\u2019ll head home,\u201d said Helmi.<\/span><\/p>\n

So that makes a 12 hour work shift for Helmi. How often does he do this, and how much can he make from that 12 hour work shift?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOn most weeks, I work 12 hours a day, six days a week. From this, I can make around RM5,000-RM7,000 per month. But this is without accounting for my costs, such as petrol, car service sessions which I have to do regularly on account of the heavy use of my car, and other costs,\u201d said Helmi.<\/span><\/p>\n

RM4,000 per month<\/h4>\n

All in all, Helmi said that roughly he\u2019ll take home around RM4000 per month.<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked if he enjoys working as a Grab driver and if he\u2019ll recommend the job to other people, Helmi had contrasting views.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoy my job as I don\u2019t mind driving that much, and I like meeting new people. However, I wouldn\u2019t really recommend this job to other people, as it can be very time consuming and tiring. Most of the time when I get home, I barely have the energy to spend quality time with my family, let alone go out and have fun,\u201d said Helmi.<\/span><\/p>\n

Financial safety net<\/h4>\n

When speaking about the social security and sustainability of his job, Helmi is aware of the shortcomings of a gig economy job. Helmi also understands the importance of a strong financial safety net, especially with the nature of his work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Which is why he\u2019s grateful to his employers for the measures that they have taken to ensure that Grab drivers are provided with some semblance of social security.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith Grab, drivers are provided with the option to purchase daily insurance to protect themselves, and also are provided with a\u00a0 voluntary contribution scheme called i-Saraan, which allows drivers to contribute to their EPF accounts, which helps them create a retirement plan for themselves,\u201d said Helmi.<\/span><\/p>\n

Helmi also says that he understands the very unstable nature of his work, which is why he always makes it a point to save as much money as possible, so that he will be protected if anything untoward happens to him.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Four hours a day, six days a week<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

We next spoke to Arif, a delivery rider about his experience with the gig economy<\/span>. <\/b>We were interested in finding out if it provided a living wage for Arif just by\u00a0 working this gig job.<\/span><\/p>\n

And according to Arif, it does cover his immediate monetary needs. He points out that if he does delivery orders<\/span> six days a week,\u00a0 in a month he is bringing home around RM 2600. “It is good enough for me,\u201d said Arif.<\/span><\/p>\n

Average of 10 orders per day<\/h4>\n

Arif also said that this job allows him a lot of free time everyday. Most days it takes him less than four hours to complete 10 orders.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, this doesn\u2019t mean that if Arif works longer than four hours a day, he can take more than 10 orders.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is because the number of orders in a day is limited, and is mostly concentrated in a specific period of time in the day. For example, on most days, after 3PM there are less orders coming in, so if I decide to wait for more orders, I\u2019ll spend most of my time waiting around instead,\u201d said Arif.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over 97% of ehailing drivers are under age 30<\/h4>\n

When asked regarding his plans for the future and the sustainability of his job, Arif says it suffices for his single lifestyle for now.\u00a0 In fact, he is not alone. According to DOSM statistics, over 97% of ehailing drivers<\/a> and delivery drivers are under 30 years old. The data also shows that over 73% of them depend on gig work as an ehailing driver as their main source of income.<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked the same question that we asked Helmi, if he\u2019d recommend this job to any of his friends, Arif was very open to the idea.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah sure! I mean it\u2019s good honest work, so if you think you can ride motorbikes for a good chunk of the day and you\u2019re good at finding directions then you\u2019re set,\u201d said Arif.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Gig economy job still a viable income source<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

So there you have it, the true reality of working a gig economy job. Is a gig economy job a viable career option?<\/span><\/p>\n

Well to help answer that question, let\u2019s look at the statistics. The first statistic we\u2019re going to look at is the median and mean income in Malaysia. According to DOSM, the median salary for Malaysians in 2024<\/a> is RM2844 per month. This means that gig workers are still earning close to the median wage in Malaysia.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, gig workers are mostly concentrated in Klang Valley. Which means that another important statistic to look at is the living expenses for people in the Klang Valley. According to EPF’s Belanjawanku<\/a> expenditure guide, a single person with a car living in the Klang Valley needs RM2,600 a month. This amount goes up to RM5,930 a month for a married couple with 1 child.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This means that the gig economy can help those who are single and living in the city to earn enough income to support themselves. Howeve, it may not be enough for those who need to support their children and spouse as well.<\/p>\n

However that doesn\u2019t mean that gig jobs are not viable. It just might require more careful budgeting for gig workers who want to live in the Klang Valley region.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more:
\nHow To Get Started As A Freelancer In Malaysia<\/a><\/strong>
\nHow Can Gig Economy Workers Prepare For Retirement?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

This article has been updated on September 30, 2024.<\/em><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We spoke to gig workers to find out the true reality of working a gig economy job in 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":65326,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[254,256,218],"tags":[340,394,789],"class_list":["post-52634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-income","category-lifestyle","category-money-management","tag-epf","tag-grab","tag-i-saraan"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGig Economy Jobs: How Much Can You Earn?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Due to the shortage of jobs, more people are looking towards gig economy jobs to get by. But is this enough? Let\u2019s find out.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/gig-workers-income\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Do You Know How Much Gig Workers Make?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Due to the shortage of jobs, more people are looking towards gig economy jobs to get by. But is this enough? Let\u2019s find out.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/gig-workers-income\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"iMoney Malaysia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-30T08:18:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-30T11:19:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/30191027\/delivery.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Haziq Alfian\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Haziq Alfian\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/gig-workers-income\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/gig-workers-income\",\"name\":\"Gig Economy Jobs: How Much Can You Earn?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/gig-workers-income#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/gig-workers-income#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/30191027\/delivery.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-30T08:18:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-30T11:19:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/c8b6d65e0078bab2c19286b8db39547a\"},\"description\":\"Due to the shortage of jobs, more people are looking towards gig economy jobs to get by. But is this enough? Let\u2019s find out.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/gig-workers-income#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/gig-workers-income\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/gig-workers-income#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/30191027\/delivery.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/30191027\/delivery.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":628,\"caption\":\"delivery service\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/gig-workers-income#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lifestyle\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/category\/lifestyle\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Gig Workers Reveal How Much They Can Make\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/\",\"name\":\"iMoney Malaysia\",\"description\":\"Everything you need to know about improving your personal finances.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/c8b6d65e0078bab2c19286b8db39547a\",\"name\":\"Haziq Alfian\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4165e8554ae5d986f5bed18bcaa78ba3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4165e8554ae5d986f5bed18bcaa78ba3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Haziq Alfian\"},\"description\":\"A reader turned writer, Haziq Alfian navigates personal finance, sports, and politics with a practical touch. From money matters to the playing field and political landscapes, Haziq aims at providing you with a grounded, unbiased, and simple look at the daily happenings of the world.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/author\/haziq-alfian\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Gig Economy Jobs: How Much Can You Earn?","description":"Due to the shortage of jobs, more people are looking towards gig economy jobs to get by. But is this enough? Let\u2019s find out.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/gig-workers-income","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Do You Know How Much Gig Workers Make?","og_description":"Due to the shortage of jobs, more people are looking towards gig economy jobs to get by. But is this enough? Let\u2019s find out.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/gig-workers-income","og_site_name":"iMoney Malaysia","article_published_time":"2024-09-30T08:18:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-09-30T11:19:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/30191027\/delivery.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Haziq Alfian","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Haziq Alfian","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/gig-workers-income","url":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/gig-workers-income","name":"Gig Economy Jobs: How Much Can You Earn?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/gig-workers-income#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/gig-workers-income#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/30191027\/delivery.jpg","datePublished":"2024-09-30T08:18:29+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-30T11:19:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/c8b6d65e0078bab2c19286b8db39547a"},"description":"Due to the shortage of jobs, more people are looking towards gig economy jobs to get by. But is this enough? Let\u2019s find out.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/gig-workers-income#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/gig-workers-income"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/gig-workers-income#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/30191027\/delivery.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/30191027\/delivery.jpg","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"delivery service"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/gig-workers-income#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Lifestyle","item":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/category\/lifestyle"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Gig Workers Reveal How Much They Can Make"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/","name":"iMoney Malaysia","description":"Everything you need to know about improving your personal finances.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/c8b6d65e0078bab2c19286b8db39547a","name":"Haziq Alfian","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4165e8554ae5d986f5bed18bcaa78ba3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4165e8554ae5d986f5bed18bcaa78ba3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Haziq Alfian"},"description":"A reader turned writer, Haziq Alfian navigates personal finance, sports, and politics with a practical touch. From money matters to the playing field and political landscapes, Haziq aims at providing you with a grounded, unbiased, and simple look at the daily happenings of the world.","url":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/author\/haziq-alfian"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52634"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52634"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65330,"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52634\/revisions\/65330"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}