- Many drivers have completed tertiary education, challenging stereotypes about who participates in gig work.
- Most work part-time and value autonomy, often preferring platform work over salaried jobs with similar pay.
- Driving helps households cover basic needs in unstable labor markets, but with limited access to social protection.
Every day, from early morning until late at night, thousands of drivers crisscross the main cities of Latin America and the Caribbean with a ride-hailing app switched on. It is not a luxury or a convenience. It is a way to earn income amid limited job opportunities, instability, and rising living costs.
That reality is the starting point of a new study we conducted at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB): we surveyed more than 13,000 Uber drivers across eight countries. The objective is to document what gig work looks like in the region — beyond the temporary effects of the pandemic — and to contribute to the policy dialogue on the challenges it poses for labor markets.
The results suggest that ride-hailing work does not appear to be a magic solution to employment challenges, nor is it a path into precarious employment. Rather, it exposes the fissures of Latin American labor markets: persistent informality, income fragility, and a constant tension between the flexibility these apps offer, existing legislation, and security.
The first finding from the survey, which gathered responses from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico, is the strong heterogeneity within the workforce relying on this alternative. However, when looking at aggregated results, the average Uber driver is male and just over 40 years old, and more than half have completed tertiary education.
For most, this is not their first occupation, but rather a job that helps them navigate economic uncertainty or periods between jobs. Around 8% are migrants, although in countries such as Chile the proportion is significantly higher. Nearly 30% of drivers come from abroad.
The most valued element among drivers is flexibility. Most work part-time, often between 10 and 30 hours per week, using Uber as a supplement to other income or to adapt to changing circumstances. Nearly half report they would not switch from platform work to salaried employment if earnings were equivalent. This preference challenges the notion that gig workers participate only while searching for traditional employment. For many drivers, the autonomy to decide when and how much to work is one of the greatest advantages.
The survey shows how Uber earnings are important for supplementing household income and making ends meet. Nearly two-thirds of drivers depend on this income to cover basic household needs. At the same time, financial fragility is widespread. Average hourly earnings are estimated at around seven dollars, although with significant variation by country. Given the typical debt profile drivers have, similar to that of the average population, the margin for savings or long-term planning is limited. As a result, platform work functions less as a career path and more as a buffer against economic shocks and short-term needs. Drivers turn to Uber during recessions, periods of unemployment, or personal crises. The platform offers immediacy and liquidity, but not necessarily stability.
Only one-third of drivers contribute to a pension system, and many lack stable access to health insurance or other benefits. Retirement planning exists more as an intention than as a reality. Although many say they think about the future, few have effective tools to secure it.
This gap is not exclusive to platform workers. It reflects a broader regional problem. Social protection systems remain largely tied to formal, salaried employment. Independent workers, whether drivers, freelancers, or small entrepreneurs, are often left out. Social security systems, designed for a nineteenth-century analog world, have not adapted to the changing needs of today’s workforce.
Drivers are not necessarily calling for rigid reclassification as employees or for the full set of traditional labor benefits. Their concerns are more pragmatic. They value independence but recognize the risks associated with volatile income, illness, accidents, and old age.
The report proposes moving toward people-centered social protection: portable benefits, flexible contributions, and financial tools that accompany workers across jobs and platforms. Under this vision, protection no longer depends on a specific employer but is linked directly to the worker.
Uber drivers are often presented as a symbol of the future of work. In Latin America and the Caribbean, they may represent something different: a mirror of the present. Their experiences show how millions of people already navigate unstable incomes, weak protection networks, and the constant need to adapt.
The gig economy did not create these conditions, but it has made them more visible and therefore harder to ignore. The question for policymakers is not whether platform work should exist, but how to ensure that flexibility does not come at the cost of long-term security.
Behind the wheel, drivers have already given their answer. Autonomy matters, but protection does too. The challenge is to build systems capable of improving workers’ lives by offering both.
Download the publication to learn more about these findings and proposals here.