Under the situation of industrial transformation and stable employment, gig economy has gradually become a new economic phenomenon and attracted widespread attention, but there are few studies on the formation mechanism of gig economy and its influence. Based on the Data of China Labor-force Dynamic Survey（CLDS）in 2014 and 2016 and the Peking University Digital Financial Inclusion Index, this paper empirically analyzes the relationship between city size, development of digital financial inclusion, and gig economy. The results show that: （1）City size is the physical basis of gig economy, that is, population agglomeration and supply-demand matching efficiency in big cities are more conducive to the emergence and development of gig economy.（2）The development of digital financial inclusion provides an important guarantee for gig economy, and the expansion of the availability and coverage of financial services promotes the further development of gig economy. In addition, the rise of gig economy will bring positive externalities to cities and become the new driving force of urban development. Similar to the sharing economy, urban agglomeration economy provides the growth environment and possibility for the emergence of gig economy, while digital financial inclusion provides technical support and diffusion foundation for the development of gig economy.

Under the impact of COVID-19 epidemic, the employment of the real economy is generally affected, and gig economy, characterized by flexible employment forms, abundant employment channels and low employment threshold, has become an important channel to stabilize the employment situation and maintain steady economic growth. In this context, it is of certain theoretical and practical significance to study the generation and development of gig economy from the perspective of city size and digital financial inclusion. Therefore, in order to promote the healthy development of urban gig economy, this paper proposes the following policies: On the one hand, based on the positive impact of city size on gig economy, we should pay attention to the positive influence brought by urban population agglomeration when promoting the development of new economy, new industry and new format; on the other hand, considering that gig economy has a large space for development, the government should actively encourage this emerging economic form, grasp the opportunities brought by technological innovation such as the internet platform, and pay attention to the construction of financial infrastructure services in cities to provide necessary guarantees for the development of gig economy.