OPINION:
In President Biden‘s America, with soaring inflation, housing costs and interest rates, many people are finding they need to make more money just to afford the cost of being alive. They used to call that getting a second job, but nowadays, they call it a “side hustle.”
Nearly 2 in 5 (39%) of U.S. adults now have a side hustle, according to a Bankrate survey. The numbers get even higher for younger workers.
Nearly half (46%) of Generation Z workers and more than a third (37%) of millennials said that they worked a second part-time job — or even a second full-time one, according to a study of 22,000 young workers from Deloitte.
Bankrate reports that less than one-quarter (24%) of baby boomers — who are now aged 59 to 77 — say they have a side hustle, while 40% Gen Xers (aged 43-58) have a second gig. And Bankrate puts the numbers even higher than Deloitte: 53% of Gen Zers (aged 18-26) and half of millennials (aged 27-42) said they have a second job.
The Deloitte poll found younger generations usually pick jobs they can do from home or that have flexibility, such as selling products online, delivering food, or driving for a ride-hailing company such as Uber or Lyft.
“The cost of living has been [the workers’] top concern for two consecutive years now, and finances are consistently their top stress driver,” Michele Parmelee, who heads global people and purpose at Deloitte, told Fortune. “Interestingly, these concerns are really consistent across both generations, so it’s not just a matter of Gen Zs being young and just getting started in their careers.”
Far more people with a second job say they just need the money. “Side hustles have become more common, but like so many things in this inflationary environment, people are working harder but not necessarily getting ahead. Side hustlers are much more likely to view this extra income as essential, rather than a passion project or a way to get ahead financially,” said Ted Rossman, Bankrate senior industry analyst.
The side hustles bring in an average of $810 a month, Bankrate calculates, and one-third of side hustlers say they need the extra cash just to meet living expenses. Many of the two-jobbers make less than $50,000 a year, and many don’t see it getting better: More than a quarter (28%) think they’ll always need a side hustle to keep a roof over their heads and food in their bellies.
It’s bad for the boomers, too, and nearly 10,000 are reaching retirement age each day. For them, with their investment portfolios sagging daily, a lot of them are being forced to “unretire.”
It’s been a perfect storm hammering older Americans. Along with the soaring cost of living, “many older adults find themselves in deteriorating financial positions due to massive stock market losses in 2022,” USA Today reported. Last year, more than $12 trillion in wealth disappeared as the Dow dropped 8%, the S&P 500 19.4% and the Nasdaq 33%.
“Unfortunately, the inflation-driven affordability crisis and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes meant to combat inflation have driven housing costs higher,” USA Today reported. “As a result, retirees are moving back into the labor force. According to a survey by Paychex, 55% of retirees who went back to work said they did so because they needed more money, and 1 in 6 retirees is considering returning to work.”
“Most would want to work full-time (65%) instead of part-time (35%). This could be due to a need for more money — the reason cited by 53% of respondents,” Paychex reported. Some 55% of retirees went back to work because they said they needed more money.
The crunch since Mr. Biden took office — inflation soared 9.1% in June 2022 year-over-year, and housing costs were 8.1% higher this past April compared with a year earlier — has pinched older adults. Of course, Mr. Biden and other Democrats have done nothing to address skyrocketing health care costs, which means older Americans are being hit from every side.
This will be the legacy of Mr. Biden: Under his watch, every American is worse off. And he’s really going to ask us all for another four years?
• Joseph Curl covered the White House and politics for a decade for The Washington Times. He can be reached at josephcurl@gmail.com and on Twitter @josephcurl.
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