Characteristics of the Potential Participants in the Digital Labour Platforms

Digitalization has strongly influenced the functioning of all sectors of the economy, and consequently the development of the platform economy has led to a transformation of the labour markets. As there is no consensus among researchers on the impact of the increasing share of platform work on the economic status of individuals, some scholars argue that platform work acts as a stabilizer that narrows the gap in unequal incomes, while others argue that platform work increases employment insecurity. Regardless of one's point of view, it is a fact that in today's digital environment, the number of employees working through platforms is rapidly increasing. The aim of this paper is to find out why people participate in platform work and to determine the socio-demographic characteristics of workers who choose to work via platform. For this purpose, the results of a questionnaire conducted on 103 respondents in two Croatian counties (Dubrovnik-Neretva and Split-Dalmatia) in the period from August 2023 to August 2024 were used. The results of the study suggest that platform work is often an additional source of employment, but can also be a necessary solution for those who cannot find job in the traditional sectors of the economy. In terms of the socio-demographic characteristics that can be attributed to people who work via digital platforms, the results show that older people are significantly less interested in this type of work. Women are almost three times more likely to work on platforms than men, while people with a university degree are less likely to work on platforms compared to those with a lower level of education.