on the move
Musicians have known it for almost a
century. Now the term gig economy
embraces workers in many walks of
life, estimated as towards 15 per cent
in Britain, and likely to become
40 per cent in the US by 2020. The
word gig, referring to a “one-night
stand” engagement for a musician or
musicians playing jazz, dance-music
etc (Oxford English Dictionary online),
was first recorded in the 1920s, though
it was probably spoken and heard
earlier. Since then, the uses of gig have
steadily expanded, at least in colloquial
style. Its tough implications are there
in an Oxford Dictionary citation from
1965: “…knockin’ hisself out on a mail-
handler gig at the Post Office where the
pay is lousy”. They resonate in the gig
economy that has evolved with the 21st
century. It is now the core of service
industries such as driving passengers,
making deliveries, or cleaning homes,
wh