The Blubber

Per Go Banking Rates

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.

Chief credit analyst at LendingTree, Matt Schulz, gave a statement on how more and more people started side hustles during the pandemic. It was also shared how the effects of inflation have resulted in more people picking up side hustles.

Schulz: “Life is really expensive today and many people need that extra side hustle income to make ends meet or to provide themselves with a little bit of financial wiggle room.”

Recently, companies have started to entertain the four-day workweek, and in a pilot program that involved 61 companies, 56 of them said they would continue the policy. It was also found that the burnout rate for desk job workers increased to higher numbers compared to the pandemic's peak at 40%.

See flow at unusualwhales.com/flow.

Other News:

• 56 out of 61 '4-day work week' company participants decide to extend this policy
• Burnout rate for desk job workers is now higher than pandemic peak numbers at over 40%

Resources:

Go Banking Rates

LendingTree