Sponsored content -- Camille Mauro, a part-time Uber driver from Miami, said she prefers driving for Uber rather than other driver gigs like Avon and Postmates because she knows exactly how much she will earn before she picks up a passenger. 

Uber is ranked No. 4 in a list from The Ways to Wealth called "32 Highest Paying Gig Economy Jobs for 2021," with an average pay of $18 per hour. This hourly rate is an estimate, as the hourly pay for an Uber driver depends on the driver's location and the demand for services. The pay rate also does not reflect out-of-pocket costs such as gas, vehicle maintenance and other necessary upkeep. 

“Well, Avon, I've been doing since 2000,” Mauro said. “I think it was 2002, but since the pandemic, that went downhill. With Postmates, it's sort of different. I felt like I was getting paid a little more, with the tips, but they didn't show what was being paid beforehand. But with Uber, I like it better because you [are shown] what you're paid beforehand and people will tip you on top of that."

COVID restrictions led to a significant increase in flexible workers, according to Investopedia. Many workers whose jobs were deemed unessential found themselves looking to fill other roles that were suddenly in higher demand, such as grocery delivery or shifting to part-time or contract work. Now, with as much as one-third of the American workforce participating in the gig economy to some extent, analysts expect that the flexible workforce will continue to grow.

The number of customers who use Uber increased from 93 million in 2020 to 118 million in 2021, according to Business of Apps. Uber drivers completed more than 6 billion trips in 2021, for an average of more than 17 million trips per day. More than 5 million people across the globe worked as Uber drivers in 2021.