A report released today by the Pew Research Center found 24% of Americans reported earning money from the digital “platform economy” in the past year. The digital platform economy as defined by Pew includes digital platforms to take on a job or task, online sales sites; and online home-sharing sites. The survey included 4,579 respondents.

Staffing Industry Analysts defines digital labor platforms such as Upwork as part of the “human cloud” and defines all forms of contingent work as part of the “gig economy.”

In the Pew report’s survey, 5% of the respondents indicated they have earned money from an online job platform in the last year by doing online tasks – which might include anything from IT work to taking surveys or doing data entry. Some 2% earned money by driving for ride-hailing services, while 1% each used these platforms to perform shopping or delivery tasks, as well as cleaning or laundry tasks. An additional 2% performed a wide variety of tasks that fall outside of these four general groupings.

Participation in labor platforms was most common among blacks and Latinos, at 14% and 11% respectively, compared to 5% of whites, according to the Pew report. It was also more common among those with relatively low household incomes than those with relatively high household incomes, and more common among young adults than any other age group.

The survey also found that the broader public has mixed views about online human cloud jobs. A majority of Americans, 68%, feel that these jobs are good options for people who want a flexible work schedule and 58% said they are good options for older adults who don’t want to work full time any more. However, 21% feel that these jobs place too much financial burden on workers and 23% reported they let companies take advantage of workers. Just 16% felt that this type of work offers jobs that people can build careers out of.

The full report is available online.