Forget 'quiet quitting': New research shows increase in Americans working 2 or more jobs

WASHINGTON (TND) — The workforce has certainly gone through significant changes recently, according to new research. As the cost of living consistently increases, many are looking for multiple streams of income and second jobs to make ends meet.

A new national survey by Experian focused on savings found that 66% of Americans are looking for ways to trim their monthly expenses.

I definitely grew up thinking I was just gonna have one job and you know, be able to make a good living and provide for myself but the cost of living has gone up astronomically, inflation is crazy,” said Lauren Jack.

From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Jack is a marketing manager but it’s not her only job. She’s also a content creator, bringing in extra money by making social media posts.

“It was just so stressful because I was barely making it and I was like there has to be another way around this," she said.

And Jack isn’t alone.

Data analytics company Kantar questioned 10,000 people in 10 countries. According to their study, while side hustling spans generations — 36% of Millennials, 30% of GenX and 21% of Boomers have at least two jobs — Gen Z is most impacted with 40% having two or more roles.

Dr. Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Forecasting at the University of Central Florida, says as the prices of everyday goods and housing have skyrocketed, he’s not surprised by the data.

Necessity is the mother of invention and if your one job isn’t paying all the bills, then I think many people are kind of forced into taking that side job,” Snaith said.

Citing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, MarketWatch says in March, there were more than 8 million multiple jobholders or 5.1% of the total employed population. That’s up from about 7.5 million during the same period last year.

“There could be some volatility over the next couple of months, but I would suspect over the next year or so this trend should start to reverse itself somewhat,” Snaith said.

Snaith adds employers are still navigating their way through the changes COVID-19 brought to the labor market like working from home. As some look for remote or hybrid work, he says this could have ripple effects in other areas like commercial real estate.

The Kantar survey showed that 50% of people say they would look for a new job if an employer decided to change their remote work policy and 80% would accept a new job if it were 100% remote.

We have a disadvantage in the sense that you know the traditional way of ‘being successful’ isn’t necessarily the way anymore, so it can be scary, or you can think of it as an opportunity to create your own path," Jack added.