China’s gig economy nears half the workforce but worker protections lag behind

China’s flexible employment workforce is projected to cross a key threshold this year, reaching 320 million people and becoming a major pillar of the labour market. Based on China’s total workforce of 725 million people at the end of 2025, this means that more than 44% of the workforce is engaged in the gig economy.

Expanding gig economy

Interviewed academics noted that China’s growing flexible employment workforce will have far-reaching implications for workers’ rights protection, the social security system and the broader structure of the labour market.

The China New Employment Forms Research Center, jointly initiated by Capital University of Economics and Business and the China Association for Employment Promotion, recently released the 2025 China Blue-Collar Employment Research Report. Drawing on big data monitoring, stratified questionnaires and field visits, the report reviewed the latest employment conditions of China’s blue-collar workforce.

According to the report, after surpassing 200 million in 2021, China’s gig workforce has grown at a rate of around 40 million people per year over the past two years, reaching 240 million in 2024 and 280 million last year. It is projected to rise further to 320 million this year, accounting for more than 40% of urban employment.

The report noted that flexible employment has crossed a key threshold in scale and is shifting from a supplementary form of employment to a key pillar of the labour market.

By comparison, the size of China’s blue-collar workforce increased only marginally, rising from 425 million people in 2024 to 427 million last year. Among these workers, household services, food delivery and other everyday service sectors were the main sources of new employment.

More specifically, employment in the domestic services sector grew by 4% last year to 46.8 million people, while the number of food delivery riders increased by 6% to 15.9 million. Meanwhile, the number of ride-hailing drivers, lorry drivers and livestreamers declined by between 2% and 3%, falling to 37.24 million, 18.13 million and 17.46 million, respectively.

In terms of income, the average monthly earnings of China’s blue-collar workers rose from 2,868 RMB (US$423) in 2013 to 6,230 RMB in 2025, representing a cumulative increase of 117%. Over the same period, the income gap between blue-collar and white-collar workers narrowed from a peak of 3,344 RMB in 2013 to 2,250 RMB last year.

Rising incomes, shrinking security

The report also noted that gig workers continue to face a structural dilemma: while their basic livelihoods are secure, opportunities for advancement remain limited. Although more than 80% of workers are covered by basic health insurance and occupational injury protection, many workers lack confidence in their retirement prospects and career progression, leaving them with little sense of control over their future.

First, China’s economic structure has gradually shifted from being manufacturing-led to service-led, and the service sector relies more heavily on flexible employment arrangements. Second, the rapid growth of the platform economy has attracted many job seekers into this new form of employment. At the same time, businesses, due to cost and management efficiency, are increasingly inclined to adopt flexible hiring practices rather than sign long-term employment contracts.

In addition, some young people are unwilling to work in traditional factories or companies and instead choose entrepreneurship or self-employment, joining the gig economy.

Zhan believes that the overall pressure on the labour market is another important factor. In the current employers’ market — where labour supply exceeds demand — some workers have little choice but to accept flexible forms of employment in order to secure work.

He expects the proportion of flexible workers in the labour market to continue rising. He added, “Flexible employment has become an important channel for job creation, but the relevant laws and regulations have not kept pace, resulting in insufficient protection of workers’ rights and interests.”

Taking the food delivery sector as an example, e-commerce giant JD.com had, as of August 2025, enrolled 150,000 delivery riders in China’s “five social insurances and one housing fund” scheme — covering pension, medical, unemployment, work-related injury and maternity insurance, as well as the housing provident fund. Meituan, meanwhile, had brought more than 800,000 riders into its rider protection system as of February 2025. Together, the two platforms cover fewer than one million riders, while the total number of food-delivery riders in China reached 15.9 million last year.

Long-term strain

In his government work report this year, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said policies will also be adopted to encourage people in flexible employment and new forms of employment to participate in social security programmes.

NTU’s Zhan pointed out that another major issue with gig employment is the lack of stability. In the future, underemployment and even intermittent unemployment may become more commonplace. Moreover, if gig workers do not voluntarily contribute to social insurance schemes, this could not only affect their access to medical and pension benefits after retirement, but also pose challenges to the long-term sustainability of the pension insurance system as a whole.

However, he added, “Research in many countries has found that the proportion of casual employment continues to rise. This is a common phenomenon resulting from changes in the global economy and employment structure, and is not unique to China.”

This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as “中国灵活就业人数今年料达3.2亿 占就业人口四成”.

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