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Hark, the Return of the Side Hustle

More US workers have multiple sources of income, especially younger generations
Posted Jun 21, 2025 9:00 AM CDT
Side Hustles Are Back
A bicyclist delivers a food order.   (Getty / nirat)

A slew of new surveys and studies point to a clear trend: Side hustles are back amid worries about what's in store for the economy.

  • More than 6 in 10 US workers say they'll probably get a second job or start a side hustle in the next year, reports HR Dive, citing a report from the American Staffing Association and the Harris Poll.
  • The trend is more pronounced with younger workers, with 76% of millennials and 73% of Gen Z workers in that camp, compared with 59% of Gen X and 37% of boomers.

  • Separate research by Deloitte found that 4 in 10 millennial and Gen Z workers already have second jobs to supplement their income, or to serve as a safety net if the main source goes away, reports the Wall Street Journal. "Holding one job at a time is on the way to becoming antiquated, or a luxury, for emerging generations," writes Callum Borchers of the Journal.
  • Official Labor Department stats show the number of people with more than one job has risen to about 5.5% this year, on par with the recession of the 2000s. However, the government stats are widely seen as being way low because they count only steady jobs.
  • By contrast, 52% of workers say they have side hustles, which might include driving for DoorDash or picking up temporary freelance work of various sorts through Fiverr.
  • A story at Inc. draws a conclusion from the emerging data: Modern employers need to get better at navigating the needs of employees with multiple jobs.
(More jobs stories.)

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