AUSSIES MORE AWARE OF SHARING ECONOMY

AIRTASKER'S new Sharing Economy Monitor has quantified the swift rise of the sharing economy in Australia.

The study, conducted in conjunction with Pureprofile, shows that roughly 44.8 per cent of Australians are now aware of sharing economy platforms like Uber and Airbnb.

Approximately 16.6 per cent of Australians engage with the sharing economy and around seven per cent of Australians use the sharing economy to earn extra income.

Airtasker CEO Tim Fung (pictured) says these figures emphasise the importance of the sharing economy in Australia.

"The figures are incredibly important given the ongoing, national debate around the sharing economy movement in Australia," says Fung.

"Businesses and policy makers need to recognise the growth, potential and the opportunity brought on by this trend."

Airtasker's report also shows how the Sydney-based company has grown exponentially since its launch in 2012.

"Our own internal data reveals that the sharing economy is gaining momentum," says Fung.

"For example, over 100,000 Australians have joined the Airtasker community over the past six months."

"We have found that more and more everyday Australians are turning to our platform to get more done as attitudes towards getting tasks completed by local workers evolve."

The Monitor shows that Airtasker has grown to support more than 330,000 users across Australia with more than $20 million worth of tasks are processed each year on the site.

Recent media reports say there are 15,000 drivers on Uber and Airbnb offers 40,000 rooms on its service across Australia.