In new research published Tuesday, the Economic Policy Institute found that Uber drivers on average took home the equivalent of about $9.21 an hour in wages after Uber fees, vehicle expenses, and other related costs.
Business Insider
May 9, 2019
The wages of Uber drivers, according to the Economic Policy Institute, average $9.41 per hour after accounting for vehicle expenses, employee bonuses, commissions, and fees. That’s less than a third of what the average private-sector worker earns and about $6 short of the hourly rate for the service industry. Uber isn’t making a profit, and its drivers are paying the price. In March, the company cut the per-mile rate in San Francisco by 25 percent, from $0.80 to $0.60.
The American Prospect
May 9, 2019
Demands varied by locale; the messages were mostly generalizable: Drivers want an hourly minimum pay. (Last May, the Economic Policy Institute estimated that Uber drivers make the equivalent of $9.21 an hour after expenses, or below the minimum wage in 13 of the 20 major markets where it operates in the US.) They want a cap on the ride-hail apps’ commissions, which today sits around 25 percent, depending on the market. They want sick pay, and some want to be recognized as employees rather than independent contractors. They want transparency, after many have criticized the companies for altering payment algorithms and deactivating drivers with little recourse. And they want recognition, a seat at some sort of bargaining table.
Elexonic
May 9, 2019
Uber’s frontline workforce ends up netting just $9.21 an hour, a recent analysis by the Economic Policy Institute’s Larry Mishel found, and drivers across the app-taxi ecosystem have spent years pushing back against startup business models that deny them traditional labor protections so that the techified version of taxicabs will look more financially sound than it is.
Think Progress
May 9, 2019
When you pull up your app and call an Uber, a full third of the fee you pay goes to Uber and not to your driver, the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute reported in 2018. Once Uber takes its cut, driver compensation averages around $11.77 an hour — but from there, the sum continues to shrink. Take out Social Security and Medicare taxes, and EPI found that hourly pay is around $10.87. EPI defined that sum as discretionary income, so it’s an assumption, really, that drivers “do not provide themselves the equivalent of the health and retirement benefits or social insurance programs.” If they do, EPI estimates that they earn a real wage of $9.21 an hour.
New York Magazine
May 9, 2019
Uber drivers earn money on a dual per mile and per minute formula, while Uber collects service and booking fees that vary by geography each time a trip is taken. One study from the left-learning Economic Policy Institute estimates that Uber drivers earn the equivalent of $9.21 in hourly wages after taking into account Uber’s fees plus drivers’ vehicle and other expenses.
Chicago CBS Local
May 9, 2019
A study from the Economic Policy Institute released Tuesday found Uber drivers earned the equivalent of $9.21 an hour “after accounting for Uber’s commissions and fees and vehicle expenses, and taking into account the cost of a modest package of health insurance and other benefits equivalent to those earned by W-2 workers.”
Insider
May 9, 2019
Uber drivers earn the equivalent of $9.21 an hour, according to a study released on Tuesday by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. The company plans to price its IPO on Thursday and go public on the New York Stock Exchange the following day. The company is seeking a valuation as high as $90 billion.
Yahoo Finance
May 9, 2019
“It’s become a lot more dangerous to strike in the last 30 years,” said Lawrence Mishel, a labor-market economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. The decline in labor-union membership has also been a “major factor,” he said. In 2018, 10.5% of workers were in unions, down from 20.1% in 1983, the first year for which comparable data was available.
Market Watch
May 9, 2019
Congressional Black Caucus member Bobby Scott (D-VA) introduced the Raise the Wage Act, HR 582. It would provide increases in the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2024. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the legislation would give African American workers a 38 percent pay increase (compared to 23 percent for white workers). And when workers earn more, they can spend more, strengthening economic growth.
Birmingham Times
May 9, 2019