It all sounds actually rich, coming from David Plouffe: Uber drivers earned more than $three.v billion final year lonely. The Uber strategic adviser and former entrada manager for Barack Obama calls Uber a "powerful economic engine."

Just three years ago, Uber toldThe Wall Street Journal that a typical Uber driver takes in more than than $100,000 a twelvemonth. That, likewise, sounds very good. But everyone could sort of read between the lines, even then: That $100,000 is in gross money coming in--total fares, a number very unlike from the driver's total earnings after paying for the massive expenses that come with driving a car: namely, gas and depreciation of a plush automobile.

A new analysis past BuzzFeed revealed a more than likely outcome of the driver-expense equation. Drivers earned between $8.77 and $13.25 an hour after expenses, notes the site. (The analysis took into account Uber'southward own internal calculations, but ran them against data on driver trips in tardily 2015 in Denver, Detroit, and Houston.)

It'southward an interesting analysis, and I recommend you read the whole matter. Only what's perhaps nearly troubling virtually the new lens on such data is that Uber doesn't publicly acknowledge that its drivers--independent contractors who are largely ineligible for the sorts of benefits bachelor to full-time employees--are existence squeezed. (Uber did not respond to a request for comment or additional data.)

"They know how many hours the app is on. They know what the miles are," Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute, tells BuzzFeed. "They tin can readily determine whether workers are making the equivalent of minimum wage."

And BuzzFeed nails some other big problem:

Perhaps more than impactful than how Uber calculates actual earnings is how it advertises potential earnings. Uber uses a broad variety of channels--text bulletin, radio, Craigslist, imprint ads, Goggle box ads, and even direct post--to encourage people looking to earn money to drive for Uber.

Just those potential earnings are advertised in "total fares," with no mention of commission or expenses, which some drivers feel is misleading. For example, in Denver, Craigslist ads from the time when the data was pulled said drivers can earn up to $688 a week in fares; in Houston, ads from September said $660 in fares. (These estimates exclude Uber'southward commission.)

None of these advertisements mention driver expenses. The same goes for the alerts Uber sends to drivers--sometimes five times a day or more than--telling them that other drivers on the route were making $20 or $30 an hr in gross fares. Uber said this is because "there are pregnant differences in the cost of gas, new tires, an oil change or insurance depending on the metropolis and the commuter's individual circumstances/choices."

But many of the drivers and some of the erstwhile Uber employees interviewed for this article told BuzzFeed News the visitor could do a better job educating drivers about the difference betwixt net and gross earnings.

"That's not internet. That's simply gross. And that's if you get lucky. That'south the all-time, best, best-case scenario," said Houston commuter John Cerasuolo. "It might as well say partners are earning $1 1000000 an 60 minutes."

And then afterwards lots of advertising for drivers around the state and the world, there's no education on the reality of what the job really means--that is, nonbinding employment at an unimpressive wage.