The Digital Economy and Flexible Employment Quality: Empirical Evidence from China

The digital economy has reshaped the structure and operation of the labor market through profound technological changes, exerting systematic impacts on the quality of flexible employment. Based on five consecutive periods of data from the China Family Panel Survey (CFPS) between 2014 and 2022, a multidimensional, flexible employment quality indicator system is constructed to empirically examine the effects, heterogeneity, and mechanisms of the digital economy on flexible employment quality. This study shows that the digital economy has significantly improved the overall quality of flexible employment. Specifically, male, low-skilled, young, and flexible workers with a low dependency ratio on the northwest side of the Hu-Huan-Yong Line benefit more significantly. Mechanism testing results indicate that industrial structure optimization, human capital accumulation, and improved matching efficiency are important intermediary pathways through which the digital economy enhances the quality of flexible employment. The conclusion indicates that amplifying the positive empowerment effect of the digital economy on the quality of flexible employment, implementing targeted policies, and activating three indirect transmission pathways—industrial structure, human capital, and supply–demand matching efficiency—are key measures to enhance the quality of flexible employment.