Americans are working less than they did pre-pandemic, per Bloomberg:

Americans have reportedly been struggling to make ends meet, and with inflation remaining the driving factor, 44% of them decided to take up a side hustle on top of their full-time jobs last year. In 2020, only 13% of Americans reportedly worked a side hustle on top of their regular jobs.

This came after inflation and other macroeconomic factors pushed the prices of regular goods higher, making them less affordable to most people. Aside from the prices of goods, food, gas, and housing have also significantly increased, although they have slightly toned down in 2023.

In a survey by LendingTree, 2,100 US consumers were asked whether they had side hustles. It was found that the most likely groups to have side hustles were parents that had children under 18 and younger adults.

43% of the participants said that a side hustle was needed for them to afford their bills or primary expenses. 68% of participants announced that to deal with the price increases, they had to rely more on extra income.

It was noted that Americans earned an average of $5,700 annually or $473 monthly by working side hustles. It was noted that side gigs helped workers supplement up to around 12% of their income, especially for those that were making less than $35,000 annually.

https://unusualwhales.com/news/number-of-americans-with-side-hustles-spiked-from-13-in-2020-to-44-today