The impact of the move to gig work on the US labor market could be long lasting and significant, said Federal Reserve board member Lael Brainard during a speech Thursday. Public policy should maximize the benefits and work to reduce the risks for workers, she said. In addition, more data is also needed.

Brainard noted one study indicated all the net growth in aggregate employment in the decade leading up to 2015 can be accounted for by contingent work arrangements.

Brainard spoke during the “Evolution of Work” evens cosponsored by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Freelancers Union.

“The apparent trend toward contingent work has recently coincided with new advances in technology that can potentially amplify this trend and push it in new directions,” Brainard said. “We are still at an early stage in these developments, and it is too soon to say how these changes will play out. But the effects on the labor market could be long lasting and significant.”

She continued: “Taking into account the potentially varied effects of the rising prevalence of gig work on household welfare, public policy should strive to maximize the benefits of the greater flexibility and lower entry barriers provided by advances in technology, while addressing the risks that currently accompany many forms of gig employment.”

Addressing the risks might include enhancing programs such as unemployment and disability insurance to better suit contingent workers. Other changes might include making health insurance and retirement savings portable.

“Going forward, better data will be necessary, along with detailed research and analysis, in order to enable workers, employers, and policymakers to guide these changes in the labor market in a direction that ensures the benefits are broadly shared and the risks are well understood and well managed,” Brainard said.

The full comments are online.