What’s Working: Gig companies want workers back and are paying bonuses in Colorado

To rev up its workforce, Uber pledged this week to spend $250 million to boost incomes of drivers nationwide. While details on how this would roll out were slim, an Uber spokeswoman shared what it means for Denver drivers: $30.56 an hour.

That’s the median hourly rate — not including tips! — for drivers who spend 20 hours a week on the app and not just engaged with a customer, according to Uber, which saw its ride-sharing business plummet 80% during the early months of the pandemic. 

Right now, there are more riders than drivers, so Uber is trying to get its gig workforce to return. The more local demand, the higher the rate. And Denver, apparently, has high demand. Its hourly rate is above Chicago’s $28.73, Austin’s $26.66 and Miami’s $26.05. 

“Denver is the only figure I have for Colorado, but wanted it to be clear that we are seeing demand across the state so drivers may see a boost even on the outskirts of town,” said Kayla Whaling, an Uber spokeswoman. 

That includes bonuses for completed trips on top of the hourly rates. The temporary boost is for new and existing drivers who return to their gigs and will “be in place for the next several months,” Whaling added.

Over at Lyft, an increase in demand for rides also has the company providing incentives to drivers “who are busier and earning more than they were even before the pandemic,” a spokeswoman said. The average wage right now, including tips, in Denver is $45 per hour, she said.

Lyft didn’t share specifics on incentives, but according to TheRideShareGuy.com, Lyft has been messaging drivers that it’ll pay a $250 bonus for drivers in Minneapolis who complete 20 rides a week.

Are you an Uber or Lyft driver in Colorado back on the job? Are you seeing the bonuses and higher hourly rates? Share your experience with me at tamara@coloradosun.com

Bonuses and pay are still a touchy topic for gig-economy critics, who feel the base pay needs to be raised. Some reminded us that Uber, Lyft and DoorDash spent $200 million last year fighting California’s Proposition 22. The failed initiative would have reclassified gig workers as employees and improved pay and benefits for many.

As we now know, roughly 260,000 self-employed or gig-working Coloradans have filed for the special Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA, since mid-March 2020. Normally, gig workers don’t qualify for unemployment pay, but federal lawmakers included the group in the coronavirus stimulus plans. Currently, most are eligible for a minimum of $223 in PUA unemployment plus an extra $300 weekly bonus. 

To date, Colorado has distributed $1.29 billion in PUA payments since the pandemic began. As of March 27, about 87,880 PUA users were still unemployed in Colorado. 

→ No dull moments for Dashers: DoorDash’s April rewards program pays out an extra $300 for those who complete 600 deliveries during the month. That’s 20 deliveries per day for 30 days straight!

→ Better paying gigs? An effort to get DoorDash Dashers to reject lower-paying deliveries in order to get the app’s algorithm to offer a higher base payment has gained traction. But for #DeclineNow to work, more Dashers must play along. There’s been mixed results, reports Bloomberg. >> STORY

How 71,750 jobs ended up on the state’s official job board

Anyone receiving benefits through Colorado’s unemployment system knows about ConnectingColorado.com. And if you don’t, that may be what’s holding up your benefits. You’re required to register with the state’s official job board.

But do you know how those 71,750 jobs, as of Friday, ended up on the site? I explored the job board in a story this week that anyone looking for a job or looking to fill a job needs to pay attention to. 

The jobs come from two main sources: DirectEmployers Association and the state’s local workforce centers. DirectEmployers works with 900 employers nationwide and scrapes their websites directly for jobs. Workforce centers get them from local employers. 

But don’t let that job board be your only option. Some jobs were duplicated, like the one I mentioned a few weeks ago that was posted 116 times. And many more jobs aren’t even listed. 

Read the story to find out more: Thousands of new openings post to Colorado’s official job board each week. Here’s where they come from.

Colorado’s local job boards

AIA Colorado (architectural jobs) American Society of Landscape Architects (landscape architects) Denver Egotist (creative jobs) Lew’s List (finance, accounting jobs) Luke’s Circle (non-tech jobs) CoolWorks (outdoors jobs) See more: Here’s where Colorado’s official job board gets its jobs

→ Now Hiring: Fidelity Investments has 375 positions to fill in Colorado. That’s on top of adding 500 in the state last year. The greatest need? Financial consultants and customer service representatives. >> APPLY

→ Got a $5 million idea? The Colorado Governor’s Office has partnered with ZOMALAB and other education-minded organizations to challenge thinkers to come up with a better something to help our state’s 12 to 24 year olds get the job skills needed for quality careers. If you know what that something could be, turn it into a pitch and present it to SyncUp Colorado by June 1. >> DETAILS 

Paycheck loans running out?

Reports of the federal Paycheck Protection Program running out of money began showing up this week as approved loans reached $223.5 billion as of April 4 (out of roughly $290 billion available). About $4.2 billion has so far been approved for 64,285 small businesses in Colorado. 

But is the federal program for forgivable small business loans really running out? There’s still roughly $60 billion available. Last year, when Paycheck loans debuted, small (and some pretty large) businesses, including The Colorado Sun, snapped up the $349 billion in a few weeks. The rules changed to target smaller businesses, but when the program ended in August, $100 billion still was unclaimed.

This year’s round of $284 billion had a similarly slow rollout. The American Rescue Plan, passed in March, added another $7 billion and extended the deadline to May 31. 

But now, it could run out, said Nim Patel, chief strategy officer with the Colorado Enterprise Fund, which works with local businesses that aren’t able to get a traditional business loan.  

“The weekly disbursements have been between $10 billion and $15 million the last four weeks. That says the money might last another four to six weeks max,” Patel said in an email. “Seems like the money will run out before May 31 but it’s anyone’s guess as to exactly when.”

CEF will continue accepting applications until the money runs out, he added. 

“We know there are many Colorado small businesses who have been unsuccessful accessing PPP through traditional channels and we are ready to help them out however we can,” he said.

→ Still time for a second PPP: Business owners who haven’t applied for a second loan can still do so through May 31, if money is still available. But better get on it soon. Samantha Wranosky, a Fort Collins sole proprietor who got her first one in February, checked with her bank and learned it’s not taking new applications for several weeks. She ended up applying for a second loan at another bank. “I’m glad I went ahead and went to a different bank,” she said.

→ A pause on entertainment venue loans? A day after its launch, the portal for venues hoping for a piece of the $16.2 billion federal relief remained closed Friday “due to technical difficulties.” The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant offers aid to operators of theaters, museums and other live venues forced to close last year because of COVID-19. Check back, though, because the SBA is working with the vendor in order to reopen it as soon as possible. >> Apply

IDme delays continue

While I’m receiving fewer emails this week from unemployed Coloradans complaining of long waits to get their identities verified, the wait is still long for some. This is a new requirement for those on unemployment, part of the state’s fight against fraudsters. If you don’t pass, you don’t get paid.

Mo from Highlands Ranch shared his experience with the state’s ID verifier, IDme, sent at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday:

April 5: Waited more than eight (8) hours….No trusted referee.

April 6: Waited more than 7 hours and 45 minutes…No trusted referee

April 7: Waited more than eight (8)…No trusted referee.

Today (April 8th) as I’m dictating this email note, I’ve been waiting since 5:30 a.m. with no trusted referee in sight.

As of Friday afternoon, an IDme spokesman told me that the wait is now 4 hours for a trusted referee, which is the additional step IDme takes when a user’s data — including a selfie — isn’t enough. This usually involves a video call to prove you are who you say you are. (But when everything goes smoothly, the automated process takes about 15 minutes.)

The delays started as more states joined IDme as customers and then dumped hundreds of thousands of unemployed folks onto the system. Waits of 30 minutes dragged on to 5 hours or more. IDme’s CEO Blake Hall even shared a chart last week showing us the backlog. 

And news stories nationwide have reported on the delays hitting North Carolina, Nevada and Arizona. 

One thing I have heard are tips from readers, CDLE staff and IDme:

• Check your credit report and fix out-of-date or incorrect information
• Make sure documents uploaded are clear
• Increase the brightness on your phone’s camera when taking a selfie
• Don’t stop after uploading your ID. There are at least nine steps
• Start with a computer, then switch to a mobile device for the photo
• More tips are on the private Facebook group page where 8,200 Coloradans are helping each other figure out unemployment benefits. 

And this tip coming in from Twitter: Complain to IDme’s official Twitter account. A Twitter user told me she did just that after seeing the 5-hour wait. IDme’s social staff got her through the system on April 1, she certified for her benefits on Sunday and was paid on Thursday.

IDme appears to be paying attention. In my own effort to help folks asking about IDme on Twitter, the company replied publicly: “We can look into this for you! Please DM us the email address associated to your IDme account for further assistance.”

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Thanks for reading through another column. I keep it going as long as readers are interested so if you like What’s Working, share it with someone you know. Keep me posted on your job or hiring situation, tag me on Twitter and don’t forget to follow up when your issue has been resolved. Stay cool! ~tamara