NYC helps growing freelance economy

There are roughly 57 million freelance workers in the United States,
according to independent research data.

And with freelancers contributing an estimated $1.4 trillion a year to
the economy, one city is now taking steps to recognize their
importance.

Nick Harper reports from New York.

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TAKE VO
Nonye Ojibe works three regular freelance jobs, doing music reviews,
blogging and website management.

Upsound - "It's a lot." "Yeah, it's a lot, but it's fun."

TAKE VO
She moved to New York seven months ago to become a full-time freelancer.

Nonye Ojibe, Entertainment Marketing Freelancer: "Up here, it's like
every other person you meet is doing something of their own on the
side - if it's not full time it's part time."

TAKE VO
She likes being able to manage her time, but says there's one big drawback.

Nonye Ojibe, Entertainment Marketing Freelancer: "The salary I guess
because you don't know when the next paycheck is coming, you don't
know how long or how hard you're going to have to work for it or what
exactly you've going to have to do."

TAKE VO
It's estimated almost two in every five workers in New York City are
freelancers. The city has already created laws to help them get paid
on time. But now they're going a step further in acknowledging the
city's growing so-called 'gig economy'.

TAKE VO
Welcome to the Freelancer Hub – a dedicated space for freelancers.

Kaitlin Pearce, Freelancers' Union, Executive Director: "New York City
really runs on freelancer labor, they're the backbone of the economy
here. And it's really ground-breaking for us to be opening up this
program in partnership with the city that really recognizes that there
are a lot of unmet needs among independent workers."

TAKE VO
Ride-sharing services may have brought the notion of a "side-hustle"
into the mainstream. But the hub offers a place for creative
freelancers to meet, share ideas, attend training and give them a
rent-free place to work.

Nicole Rodriguez, Freelance Fiction Writer: "I definitely would love
to come here once in a while to bounce off ideas and really talk to
people about their own writing."

Wendy Zhao, Freelance Filmmaker: "Legal assistance and finding your
rates and how to become a full-time freelancer is very important."

TAKE VO
But economists say freelancers are in a financially precarious position.

Max Wolff, The Phoenix Group, Chief Economist: "It's clear in many
cases that folks are actually working for less than minimum wage. And
if you reclassify people from employers to contractors, or pay them
for task completion instead of by the hour, then you've actually
undermined minimum wage."

TAKE VO
Ojibe has no plans to take up a full-time job just yet. But she
recognizes the unpredictability may eventually outweigh the
flexibility.

SOC