A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released Wednesday found an increase in the number of gig economy and large-corporation employees enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid. The study, commissioned by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), analyzed data from 15 agencies across 11 states to track federal benefit reliance between February 2020 and September 2025.
The report found that the number of Amazon employees receiving these benefits tripled during the five-year period. In the states analyzed, approximately 12,350 Amazon workers were enrolled in SNAP and 11,350 were covered by Medicaid. Additionally, the GAO noted a rise in benefit enrollment among workers for ride-hailing and delivery platforms, including Uber, Lyft, Grubhub, Instacart, and DoorDash. This sector rose to become one of the top three categories of employers with workers receiving federal assistance.
Sen. Sanders stated the findings show that taxpayers are subsidizing the labor costs of large, profitable corporations. He has previously criticized companies like Walmart and Amazon for the number of their employees utilizing public assistance. Of the 46 employers identified in the report, 17 are ranked among the 50 largest Fortune 500 companies by employee count.
Amazon spokesperson Rachael Lighty contested the report's presentation of the data, telling the Washington Post that the raw numbers are misleading due to the company's status as one of the nation's largest employers. Lighty suggested that enrollment figures should be viewed as a percentage of the total workforce rather than in isolation to provide a more accurate representation of employee benefit use.