A new government study reveals a sharp rise in reliance on federal assistance among gig economy and warehouse workers, with Amazon employees tripling their use of food stamps and Medicaid since the pandemic began.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, released Wednesday, found that the number of Amazon workers enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Medicaid grew from roughly 4,000 in February 2020 to over 12,000 by September 2025. The data, drawn from 15 agencies across 11 states, also shows that delivery app drivers—for Uber, Lyft, Grubhub, Instacart, and DoorDash—now rank among the top three employers for workers receiving SNAP benefits, a category barely tracked by the GAO in 2020.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who commissioned the study, has long targeted Amazon and Walmart for their workers' dependence on taxpayer-funded aid. “It is beyond unacceptable that these corporations, owned by some of the wealthiest people on the planet, are receiving corporate welfare from the federal government,” Sanders said in a statement. “American taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize the starvation wages of large corporations like Walmart and Amazon.”
The report found that among 46 employers analyzed, 17 were Fortune 500 companies. Walmart, historically the top employer for workers on SNAP, has been overtaken by the gig economy sector, which now leads for food stamps and ranks third for Medicaid, behind Walmart and Amazon. For Amazon specifically, nearly 12,350 staffers were on food stamps and about 11,350 on Medicaid across the states studied.
Amazon pushed back against the findings. Spokesperson Rachael Lighty told the Washington Post, “Amazon is one of the largest job creators in the country, so looking at raw numbers instead of percentages is misleading.” The company has previously argued that its pay and benefits exceed industry standards, though critics point to high turnover and part-time roles that often lack full benefits.
The spike in reliance on public assistance comes amid broader economic pressures, including rising costs of living and stagnant wages for low-wage workers. The report does not specify whether the increase is due to more workers enrolling in benefits or a growing workforce, but Sanders and labor advocates argue it underscores the failure of large corporations to pay a living wage.
This development parallels other trends in the labor market, such as a study linking childhood expectations to men's workforce exits, suggesting deeper structural shifts. Meanwhile, the gig economy continues to expand, with recent consolidation like Uber's $15 billion deal for Delivery Hero, raising questions about worker protections.
The GAO report is likely to fuel renewed debate over corporate responsibility and the social safety net. Sanders has pledged to introduce legislation requiring large employers to pay wages that lift workers off public assistance, though such measures face steep opposition in Congress.
