Nearly one in three Americans are now turning to side hustles to meet basic needs as essential costs continue to climb, with grocery prices expected to rise further due to expenses associated with the Iran war.
A USA Today report indicates that 28% of Americans have taken on supplemental work, with 49% of them starting one in the past year. The primary motivation for 54% of these workers is to earn additional money for bills or other essential expenses.
A separate ZipRecruiter survey estimates that 35% of Americans maintain an alternate income stream. ZipRecruiter Economist Nicole Bachaud stated that individuals are relying on these side hustles not only to cover essentials but also to establish a financial cushion, driven by fears of layoffs in a job market described as weak outside of a few resilient sectors.
Bachaud noted the widespread sentiment among workers, stating, “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,'” adding that “Adding something on the side is just really to prepare themselves for the ‘what if’ environment.”
The Burden of Imperialism
Rising grocery prices are directly linked to costs associated with the Iran war, while higher gas prices are further intensifying concerns about consumer spending. These externalized costs of imperialist ventures are directly borne by the working class through increased daily expenses.
Side hustles have become prevalent across all generations and income brackets. A Bankrate survey from one year ago found that 34% of Gen Z, 31% of millennials, 23% of Gen X, and 22% of baby boomers had sought out supplemental work.
Precarious Labor and Unequal Extraction
The ZipRecruiter survey revealed that approximately 45% of those earning more than $150,000 annually engage in supplemental work, a figure higher than the 31% of workers earning less than $25,000 and the 31% of those earning between $25,000 and $50,000.
Kory Kantenga, head of economics for the Americas at LinkedIn, articulated the systemic advantage of accumulated wealth, stating, “It’s the old adage: The more money you have, the easier it is to make money.” He cited the example of an AI engineer finding abundant consulting work, illustrating how existing capital and specialized skills facilitate further surplus extraction for the already privileged.
E-commerce has emerged as the most common method for workers to generate additional income, involving the sale of handmade goods, secondhand items, and various digital products on platforms like eBay, Etsy, and Facebook Marketplace. An Omnisend report found that 46% of side hustlers sell or resell products online, 31% engage in freelance work, and 21% create social media content or manage a blog.
Greg Zakowicz, an ecommerce advisor to Omnisend, observed that reduced consumer spending leads people to monetize their possessions. He noted, “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,” suggesting that Americans are seeking ways to “get the money for the least amount of effort” in a system that demands constant individual struggle.
Among e-commerce side hustlers surveyed by Omnisend, 39% reported earning over $1,000 each month. This contrasts with 28% of freelancers, 26% of food delivery workers, and 19% of content creators who achieve similar monthly earnings, highlighting the varying degrees of wage suppression and exploitation even within the precarious side hustle economy.
An analysis by BestBrokers, using income data from Upwork, ranked popular side hustles by profitability. It found that life coaches earn an average of $150 per hour, though demand is heavily dependent on personal brand. Content creators for brands average $40 per hour, with inconsistent early income. Affiliate marketers average $37.50 per hour. Other roles like e-commerce freelancers, photographers, T-shirt designers, influencer marketing freelancers, copywriters, and tutors all average over $30 per hour, while photo editors, proofreaders, Canva designers, blog writers, and digital artists earn over $20 per hour. These figures, while appearing high, often represent highly individualized, unstable income streams that offer no collective security.
Zakowicz advised those considering a side hustle to prioritize time, financial understanding, and realism. He warned, “The thing people don’t realize is you’ve got to look at that next step ahead,” concluding, “That next step might be a cliff, and you got to be willing to pack a parachute.” This counsel underscores the individual burden placed on workers to navigate a system that offers no collective safety net against economic precarity.