Is Pennsylvania still one of top places in US for gig workers?
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- From rideshare drivers to dog walkers, gig workers are everywhere these days. One study found they earn more in Pennsylvania than anywhere else in America.
That was a few years ago, but what does the situation look like now?
"I would just say it's someone who capitalizes on opportunities," Kyra Faust, an Uber driver, said.
That was Faust's definition of a gig worker. She would know. She has a business degree and used to have nine-to-five jobs.
"When I actually went on maternity leave with my son nine years ago, I tried baking," Faust said, "and I said, 'hey, this is for me.'"
That turned into her main hustle.
"But I also do gig work, which includes Uber," Faust said.
Driving for Uber when we met her, one of the many Pennsylvanians who made this the side hustle capital of America, according to this 2017 study by Finder.
What are the updated numbers? We didn't hear back from Finder.
Pennsylvania and U.S. government statisticians don't have recent data either.
"What is a gig worker? That's a that's an excellent question," Karl Kever, a regional economist with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, said. "And that's one that researchers are definitely grappling with constantly."
Kever says that's one reason the data is so hard to get. Some examples of side hustles are obvious.
"Transportation providers, food delivery services, dog walking," he said, "but in reality, gig work can really be anything that brings in side income.
Which brings up another reality.
"Gig work isn't new at all," Kever said.
A shoe shiner 100 years ago was a gig worker. So what is new?
"We have the tracking capability now to show every single job that you're working," Bryan Menk, professor at Duquesne University, said.
Menk is also a certified public accountant.
Menk said it's always been every worker's responsibility to pay their taxes -- but.
"Shoe shiner, what you get paid in cash, nobody's been able to track that," Menk said. "However, if you're using Venmo, PayPal, the IRS can and will track those."
So will companies like uber.
"It'll give you your tax info for the year," Menk said.
What most of them won't do is withhold taxes for you. So if you have a side hustle?
"You need to start saving between 30% and 40% of each check," Menk said. "In the last three years or so, I haven't, you know, owed anything to the IRS."
Self-employed people actually have to pay double what regular employees pay in Social Security and Medicare taxes.
On the other hand, you might be able to deduct some expenses you haven't thought of, like interest on a car loan.
