As grocery and gas prices climb due to costs associated with the Iran war, American workers are increasingly turning to second jobs just to cover basic expenses, with 28% now relying on side hustles to pay bills and buy essentials, according to a USA Today report.
The surge in supplemental work reflects mounting financial pressure on households across income levels. Nearly half of those with side hustles—49%—started one in the past year, and about 54% said they did so specifically to earn extra money for bills or essentials. A separate ZipRecruiter survey estimated that 35% of Americans now maintain an alternate income stream.
Economic Insecurity Drives the Trend
ZipRecruiter Economist Nicole Bachaud said people are relying on side hustles not only to cover essentials, but also to build a financial cushion because they fear layoffs in a job market that is weak outside of a few resilient sectors. "The market sitting the way it did for the last year, I think a lot of people were saying, 'If I were to lose my job right now, it would be really hard to find something else,'" Bachaud said, adding, "Adding something on the side is just really to prepare themselves for the 'what if' environment."
The phenomenon spans generations and income brackets. Last year, a Bankrate survey found 34% of Gen Z, 31% of millennials, 23% of Gen X and 22% of baby boomers have sought one out. The ZipRecruiter survey found that about 45% of those earning more than $150,000 do supplemental work, compared with about 31% of workers earning less than $25,000 and about 31% of those earning between $25,000 and $50,000.
Kory Kantenga, head of economics for the Americas at LinkedIn, highlighted the inequality embedded in side hustle opportunities. "It's the old adage: The more money you have, the easier it is to make money," Kantenga said, adding, "For example, you today are an AI engineer and you're working for a company. There's a lot of AI consulting work there available to you. It's just sitting there waiting for the taking."
How Workers Are Coping
E-commerce has emerged as the most popular way to make extra cash, with people selling handmade goods, secondhand items and various digital products on sites like eBay, Etsy and Facebook Marketplace. The Omnisend report found that of those with side hustles, about 46% sell or resell products online, 31% do freelance work and 21% do social media content creation or run a blog.
Greg Zakowicz, an ecommerce advisor to Omnisend, said, "People are going out less, especially if they have less money. They're wearing their clothes less, wearing their shoes less – it's easier to resell this stuff," and added that the popularity of resale markets leads him to believe Americans are asking, "How do I get the money for the least amount of effort?" Of respondents to the Omnisend survey, about 39% of e-commerce side hustlers said they make more than $1,000 each month, compared with about 28% of freelancers, 26% of food delivery workers and 19% of content creators.
Earnings Vary Widely
Using income data from Upwork, a BestBrokers analysis ranked popular side hustles based on profitability and career potential. It found that life coaches make the most per hour, $150 on average, but noted that demand depends heavily on personal brand and reputation. Content creators for brands are next, making an average of $40 per hour, though income is inconsistent early on. Affiliate marketers make an average of $37.50 per hour. E-commerce freelancers, photographers, T-shirt designers, influencer marketing freelancers, copywriters and tutors all make upward of $30 per hour on average, the analysis said. Photo editors, proofreaders, Canva designers, blog writers and digital artists earn upward of $20 per hour on average.
Zakowicz said those looking to start a side hustle should remember three things: time is money, understanding your finances is key and being realistic doesn't hurt. "The thing people don't realize is you've got to look at that next step ahead," he said, adding, "That next step might be a cliff, and you got to be willing to pack a parachute."
Why This Matters:
The widespread reliance on side hustles reveals structural weaknesses in wage adequacy and job security that leave millions of American workers vulnerable to rising costs. When nearly one-third of the workforce must seek supplemental income just to cover essentials like groceries and gas—costs now climbing due to the Iran war—it signals that primary employment is failing to provide economic stability. The fact that higher earners have better access to lucrative side work underscores how economic inequality compounds itself, with those already struggling facing both greater need and fewer opportunities. As economists warn of continued job market weakness and consumers face mounting price pressures, the side hustle economy represents not entrepreneurial spirit but a symptom of inadequate worker protections, stagnant wages, and the absence of sufficient social safety nets to cushion families against economic shocks.