Prosperity of the gig economy and its impact on manufacturing are drawing great attention. During today’s change in the Chinese labor market, existing research concentrates to the growth and regulation of the gig economy, while offering little analysis on the struggle between the gig economy and manufacturing – from the aspect of the transfer of industrial labor. Development of the gig economy has shown a combined picture of job creation, labor control and manufacturing instability, all of which are achieved by absorbing workers away from the real economy through three ways, i.e. the“freedom-based” labor experience, the“consent-based”management model and the pricing advantage forged by“policy dividend”. Based on these, the structural risk of excessive growth of the gig economy has been seen at the economic, societal and cultural levels. A comprehensive analytical perspective is needed to put skill, digital economy, corporate governance and broader social relations under the framework of national transition and national development – for the purposes of solving the struggle between the gig economy and real economy, harmonizing destruction and continuation, as well as avoiding the Chinese transition miring into de-skilling.