A new Government Accountability Office report reveals a troubling trend: workers in the gig economy and at major employers like Amazon increasingly depend on public assistance programs to get by.
The numbers are striking. Among Amazon employees, reliance on food stamps and Medicaid tripled between February 2020 and September 2025. For gig economy workers—those driving for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, GrubHub, and Instacart—the situation is even more severe. App-based delivery and ride-hailing have become the top category of work where employees receive food stamps, and gig workers rank third for Medicaid enrollment. Five years ago, the gig sector barely showed up in these statistics.
The report analyzed data from 11 states: Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Washington. It found roughly 13.8 million working Americans in these states were enrolled in Medicaid in 2024, up from 12 million in 2020. Food stamp enrollment among workers rose to 10.6 million from 9 million over the same period. Most of these workers held full-time jobs in transportation, restaurants, food prep, and retail.
While Walmart still employs the most Medicaid beneficiaries overall, Amazon's share has grown explosively. Some large employers in selected states had thousands of beneficiaries on their payrolls, underscoring how concentrated public assistance has become among specific companies.
The economic reality for gig workers extends beyond reliance on public programs. Research from the Economic Policy Institute found that 29% of gig workers earn less than their state's minimum wage, while 14% make less than the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour. One in five reported going hungry because they couldn't afford food, and 31% said they couldn't fully pay utility bills in recent months.
Beyond wages, gig work lacks traditional employment protections. Only about 20% of contingent workers receive employer-provided health insurance, compared to over half of conventional employees. Safety concerns are also widespread: 35% of gig workers reported feeling unsafe on the job, and 19% experienced unwanted sexual advances while working.
Amazon has pushed back against the report, arguing that its large workforce means high absolute numbers rather than high percentages of beneficiaries. The company also notes it offers part-time positions, which may make more workers eligible for assistance programs. DoorDash cited internal research suggesting some workers use deliveries specifically to avoid government benefits. Industry groups emphasize the flexibility these platforms provide, but for many workers, that flexibility comes at the cost of stable income, basic protections, and financial security.