According to recent federal data, the proportion of Americans working two or more jobs has increased to its highest point since the pandemic’s beginning, a trend that shows more people are suffering the effects of inflation.
According to a Labor Department study released on Friday, almost 8.4 million individuals worked multiple jobs in October. They make up the greatest percentage of moonlighters since January 2020, at 5.2% of the workforce.
Compared to 4.7% of males, 5.9% of women worked several jobs in October, according to employment figures. Between one full-time job and one part-time job, about 5 million Americans worked. Approximately 2 million worked two part-time jobs. A further 1.1 million reported having occupations with inconsistent hours. Less than 400,000 people worked two jobs full-time.
Experts say people may be taking on extra work in response to inflation, which pushed prices up 4.7% in 2021, 8% in 2022 and 3.5% so far in 2023. Inflation has outpaced wage growth through much of that span.
In the summer of 2019, the percentage of Americans working more than one job was 5.3%. However, during the early months of the pandemic, this percentage fell sharply and peaked in the spring of 2020. Since then, the number has gradually increased.
According to an email from Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate, “Paying for necessities has become more of a challenge, and affording luxuries and discretionary items has become more difficult, if not impossible for some, particularly those at the lower ends of the income and wealth spectrums.”
Individuals who take on a second job might also be preparing for potential layoffs, which typically peak at the beginning of the year. They might be increasing their savings for the upcoming holidays.
According to Elise Gould, senior economist of the Economic Policy Institute, “there’s some seasonality to it.” “People hiring during the holidays, that kind of thing.”
The increase in multiple jobs, according to her and other observers, indicates that the country is going back to its seasonal employment patterns, which were broken by the pandemic.
According to Elizabeth Renter, a statistical analyst and senior writer at NerdWallet, “I think, overall, it points to a return to pre-pandemic normal,” in an email. She noted that if the percentage of people holding several jobs keeps rising, “it could be indicative of a more significant underlying trend.”
As hiring slowed in October, the economy added 150,000 jobs, according to a report.
Indeed, according to Emma Harrington, an economist at the University of Virginia, individuals who may work remotely are more likely to take on numerous jobs than those who are confined to an office.
According to an email from Harrington, since the pandemic began, the percentage of workers having several jobs “has recovered more and, suggestively, even sometimes exceeds pre-covid levels among those with’remotable’ occupations.”
