Inflation Causes 4.5 Million Full-Time Workers to Pick Up Part-Time Jobs
As inflation continues outpacing wage gains, additional part-time jobs have become necessary for many full-time workers for the first time in their working lives. Reports show the number of Americans working part-time jobs increasing by 6% each year, rising to 4.5 million people this past October.[i]
Blue-collar and white-collar workers alike are finding a second job necessary in the current economy, with this year seeing an influx of white-collar workers turning to part-time jobs for a supplementary income. In prior years, only one in 100 white-collar professionals was in search of a second job; this year shows one in 30.[ii]
More workers are seen turning to the gig economy for a secondary source of income. Gig work provides the benefit of flexibility, allowing full-time workers to operate as part-time gig workers in a schedule that is designed by them. With the approaching holiday season and the impending 2023 recession, gig work provides much-needed stability as traditional employment alone falls below the demands of an unstable economy.
[i] Ray A. Smith, More Workers Get Side Hustles to Keep Up With Rising Costs, Wall Street Journal, Nov. 7, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/more-professionals-need-to-get-second-jobs-because-of-inflation-11667774723?mod=series_inflation
[ii] See id.