Long Island's growing gig economy
The construction sector on Long Island brought in close to $2.11 billion in revenues in 2023 from more than 24,000 registered establishments. Credit: Getty Images/Pollyana Ventura
The surge in the number of gig workers and the self-employed on Long Island has boosted the local economy, accounting for more than $25.25 billion in income from sales and revenue in 2023.
These include freelancers– the delivery drivers, landscape workers and other sole proprietors– who are self-employed and have no paid employees. Gig workers make up approximately 86.4% of all nonemployer establishments – a term used to describe unincorporated businesses that have no payroll – which makes the dataset the most comprehensive public source of statistics on the gig economy. Around 327,000 such businesses were registered on Long Island in 2023, up 23.1% from 263,557 in 2015.
With more than 55,000 registered unincorporated businesses, real estate was the single-largest sector on Long Island with self-employed individuals. As per 2023 federal tax records obtained by the U.S. Census Bureau from the IRS, the sector generated nearly $7 billion in revenue, a reflection of Long Island’s skyrocketing home prices. This includes the fees and commissions earned by real estate agents and brokers and excludes real estate firms that hire staff.
With a 270% jump in the number of registered unincorporated businesses, Long Island’s transportation and warehousing sector has grown at the greatest rate for gig workers. This includes taxi service providers like Uber and Lyft drivers, food delivery agents, tour guides, and others. In 2015, there were 10,895 such businesses in the sector, generating income of about $611.7 million. In 2024, that number had jumped to 40,387 with more than $1.85 billion in recorded income.
The professional services sector is the second-largest self-employed sector on Long Island, and broadly includes lawyers, accountants, photographers, tutors, wedding planners and other service providers working independently. In 2023, there were 54,797 registered unincorporated businesses in the sector, with $4.12 billion in income. This was a 16.9% increase in the number of businesses from 2015, when the reported income from the sector was $2.57 billion.
In tandem with rising home prices is the growing cost to maintain one. The construction sector, which accounts for a notable number of self-employed individuals and includes plumbing, masonry, electric work and other businesses, saw a 53% jump in revenue from $1.38 billion in 2015 to $2.11 billion in 2023. It accounts for about 24,332 registered independent businesses, up 16.5% from 23,366 in 2015. According to the National Association of Home Builders, construction costs have jumped from accounting for 60.8% of the average price of a new home in 2022 to 64.4% in 2024.
