I created three new charts to show what the BLS says and others dispute.
Nonfarm payrolls are from the BLS Establishment Survey, the other numbers are from the BLS Household Survey.
Americans Are Side-Hustling Like We’re in a Recession
The Wall Street Journal says Americans Are Side-Hustling Like We’re in a Recession
The two-job trend these days is about necessity, not pursuing a passion.
The share of working Americans holding down multiple jobs rose to between 5.3% and 5.5% during the first five months of the year. That’s a range we haven’t seen since the recession of the aughts, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Holding one job at a time is on the way to becoming antiquated, or a luxury, for emerging generations.
Roughly four in 10 millennials and Gen Zers have side jobs, according to new research by Deloitte. Elizabeth Faber, Deloitte’s global chief people and purpose officer, says it’s notable that the share of millennials working two jobs has been virtually unchanged for several years.
If Deloitte is even in the ballpark, the following chart is nonsense.
Percent of Those Employed Working Multiple Jobs
The percentage of those working multiple jobs hit 5.47 percent in March, the highest total since 5.56 percent in August of 2008.
However, ignoring the pandemic low, we are talking tiny fractions of a percent. Deloitte is talking 4 in 10 of millennials and zoomers.
Percent of those Mainly Working Part Time
Despite the scramble by millennials and Zoomers to take on extra jobs, the BLS says 17.49 percent of those employed are mainly working part time.
This is up from what I believe is a secular low of 16.18 percent in June of 2022, ignoring the pandemic spike low.
Of the baby boomers retiring en masse, many have opted for part-time jobs. And in the job slowdown and recession coming up, employers will be cutting hours.
Those working two jobs may suddenly find they have only one and some working full time may find themselves working part time by design (partial retirement) or involuntarily by employer choice.
Side Hustling Like It’s a Recession
People may be side hustling like it’s a recession because it is a recession.
But my charts are only as good as the BLS data that went into them.
I seriously do not trust any of this BLS data. However, Fed chair Jerome Powell seems to.
Fed Projects Higher Unemployment and Higher Inflation Citing Tariffs
On June 18, I commented Fed Projects Higher Unemployment and Higher Inflation Citing Tariffs
The Fed’s outlook has soured vs its March forecast. “We expect a meaningful rise in inflation in the coming months,” said Powell.
“Consumers, businesses, and professional forecasters point to tariffs as a driving factor.”
“Increases in tariffs this year are likely to push up prices and weigh on economic activity.”
Despite calling out tariffs multiple times, Powell was mostly singing the praises of the labor market.
Regarding jobs, Powell said the labor force, participation rate, wages are all at “healthy levels”.
“You can see perhaps a very slow cooling but nothing that troubling at this time.”
I commented: Apparently Powell believes BLS statistics. I don’t. He does not see the train coming down the tracks.
Related Posts
June 16, 2025: QCEW Report Shows Overstatement of Jobs by the BLS is Increasing
The discrepancy between QCEW and the BLS jobs report is rising.
June 15, 2025: Is the Fed Behind the Curve in Cutting Interest Rates?
That’s the claim in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.
June 17, 2025: Retail Sales Down Much More than Expected, Drop 0.9 Percent
Retail sales declined 0.9 percent led by autos down 3.5 percent.
June 18, 2025: Intel Will Lay Off Another 15% to 20% of its Work Force
Big job cuts are coming in July.
Q: Is there any doubt the economy is slowing?
A: None
For details and discussion please see Did the Fed Just Predict a Recession for Later this Year?
The Fed does not “predict”, but its GDP projections say “yes”.
Trump’s tariff and deportation policies greatly exacerbate the setup.
So best wishes with your side hustle and main hustle too.
I don’t work for money since my husband loves to work and I prefer to sit around and read. However it is the case that his ancient father has lived with us for 9+ years, and that saves him about 20k a month which he would have to pay for institutional care (and which we would need to pay for his care if he ran out of money). That makes much more economic sense than any official occupation I could come up with.
Does male-gigolo count? Hopefully, Trump’s no-tax-on-tips bill comes soon so I can save $2.39.
You can keep the tip!
Said the leper to the Hoebag!
😉
“People may be side hustling like it’s a recession because it is a recession.”
I will completely agree that the bottom 50% are in a recession & have been. I’ve given you a hard time in the past about this, but I am coming around. Housing & insurance of all stripes are in dire need of a real recession. I hate to say that, but most of us probably agree.
None of us, I think, are looking forward to a recession but there’s probably going to be pockets of relief, when it arrives.
Yeah a recession will be like a great depression for those on the margins. But I wonder with the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing and the federal government willing to spend stimulus money if there will be another recession that will have that much of a negative impact.
And what you hope for is only annual inflation no more than 3% as a result of this.
I noticed egg prices have dropped a lot and gas prices have steadied.
1) “with the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing and the federal government willing to spend stimulus money” — isn’t Trump (not he Fed) leading the parade for a looser Fed right now? I know he likes those headline numbers, however transitory.
2) “egg prices have dropped a lot and gas prices have steadied.” So if I eat enough eggs and drive enough, I will make back on volume what I lose on insurance and car parts and housing costs?
Gas is up 10-15% in a month here, not really my idea of ‘steady’ along with rocking the cradle of civilization
Not sure recessions work here any longer. Too many people have too much money.
Seems we are in a sort of bifurcated society. Sad for those out on the risk curve condemned to low level servant lives. But not sad enough to surrender my seat. For my part, I had 2 1/2 jobs from my mid 20’s to late 30’s. The 1/2 I still work (40 years now, and running) past “retirement age.” Living frugally and with very focused goals has served pretty well.
For many Trump voters, “owning a lib” is what’s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the foreseeable future. Especially for the ones who as usual voted against their interests, and to help the unfortunate rich who need the poor’s help. What a freaking mess we made.
Most of my local farmers voted for Trump and are shaking their heads at what he has done to our/their crop exports (again). I’m pretty quiet politically with that group because they are so narrow in their thinking. I prefer to listen and ask simple questions, then I do what I do with my land.
Recently I placed my cost/benefit calculations on the table at a pancake breakfast (real Maple syrup and my honey on the tables) for why I did not plant any corn or soy this year. It was a matter of fact conversation ~ without judgment. Most are hoping to break even.
Several have followed up with me under the auspices of showing me something or buying honey and I have seen some “Big Eyes” as they look around my acreage and see the diverse higher margin products being produced.
John Muir and Aldo Leopold would be proud and Thoreau would piss his pants!
Helping the poor just ecoungers their continued proliferation. We need to STOP shipping food and medicine to 3rd world countries and reduce US government handouts to the bare minimum.
I see Democrats voting against their self interests, here in L.A. California legislature is anti business and several have moved their headquarters out of state, costing jobs for Democrat voters. Voting for Soros D.A.’s, promoted crime.
Speaking of recessions:
The bottom 50% have the slowest access to capital and have never caught up in terms of wages. They will suffer the most in a recession because they are the first on the chopping block or can have their wages suppressed just hanging on to their job.
A softening in Housing costs will help, but with new home starts crashing down and costs rising? Not exactly a recipe for success.
IMO a recession will only hurt more because tax receipts will fall right when we need them to cover the increasing deficit spending by yer buddies that own our government.
But don’t worry the Fed can paper over the continuing malfeasance…
We need to work less not more. Life isn’t about work it’s about living. I’d rather let the money do the work for me.
Exactly. The whole point of using machines is to supposedly save time to do things that matter.
I’ve been working remotely since 1997. This saved time. When others realized it, they started working remotely too, and eventually everyone started competing on who’s going to sleep less. Not to make more money, but just to survive the competition of the others.
In the end it becomes a national obsession. Because God forbid the USA loses the No.1 position and falls to No.4, it’ll be the end of the world or something…
I haven’t worked in over 30 years. Not working is a blessing. I’ve never missed work.
How about following ones passions? Many consider my busy days to be “Work” but I can spend my time any way I want at this point ~ but what better way is there to spend life in a productive and exploratory quest of fun, experience and knowledge?
I have seen people that “Work” far harder than I do at fretting about being poor and looking for sympathy and handouts. Their lives suck and they are also fat and unhealthy.
It is easier to be successful than poor in many ways. It simply takes a little self control and the willingness to learn outside the box.
When I was a teenager I sometimes worked at two jobs but once I started a career I never had the time nor the inclination to pick up another job. First of all my contracts would expressly forbid it but above all they were full-time on call around the clock type of positions and to do them well you had to go all out. Of course when a new opportunity came up I would take it but I never had a “side hustle” per se.
I have never had a “JOB” per se,
Always multiple methods of making money.
I came from nothing with blue collar parents in the land of opportunity. I started working at a very young age and picked up money turning my hand to almost anything. Started paying attention to items of value and began collecting/trading antiques and classic cars at a young age. I put myself through seven years of college and only borrowed $2,000 to do it. Paid it all back while in school by running a small car restoration shop, roofing houses, doing small construction jobs, trimming trees, selling firewood.and competing in a professional sport.
My pre-med education led me into high end bio-mechanics and sporting goods retail where I built a franchise of sporting goods stores that was sold at a large profit. All along I was competing professionally in a sport that was covered by ABC Wide World of Sport. I had sponsorship by as many as seven companies that are household names.
By the age of twenty eight I retired for a short time. Two weeks! 😉
On he side I wrote a book that was a best seller in two languages. This led to another career in orthopedics and distribution of orthopedic products.
All along I was buying houses and cars and building sweat equity.
Sure I should be retired again, but a life of learning and earning is simply who I am. I invest in the markets (stocks, options and futures), have a farm, practice forestry, raise honeybees and am protecting quite a few endangered species on my landholdings.
My advice is to never do one thing for someone else. Be your own person and build equity and pay off debt as quickly as possible.
Sure, there were many times when I did without, and life was incredibly difficult to manage.
Athletic competition taught me how to lose, crash, dust myself off and get backup. Show up with the bruises, soreness and scars having learned something.
Never turn down the opportunity to fulfill curiosity, train for excellence and learn on a daily basis
Ignoring curiosity is a crime against one’s self. Not being curious in the first place is a waste of one’s life.
My part time gig as an aged rock guitar god usually gives me a little extra pin money. I DO report this to the nice lady at the welfare office. She appreciates that and says it OK.
Playing music is extremely fun, plus it gets us out of ourselves and focused on something that can be soooooo creative!
This is where the government will hide during a nuclear war
Will Lindsey Graham be riding it out at Fort Dix, New Jersey?
He does like riding dix.
ad two Xs to dix, for several reasons
Yet another case of poor journalism by the WSJ. They turned what is clearly a random noise blip (from a few months ago, even) into a clickbait recession-porn headline.
Mostly Disagree
I find this interesting
Roughly four in 10 millennials and Gen Zers have side jobs, according to new research by Deloitte.
But the Journal never links to anything. Nor does Bloomberg, etc.
I would like to see the report.
I am among the few who are meticulous about linking.
I think a lot of those jobs involve some form of driving, either delivering people, food or packages.
This is going to become a huge problem for these people as Waymo and other taxi services proliferate. Too many are ignoring this problem. Same with autonomous trucks.
You pin-pointed the 300-lb. gorilla looming in the social contract. When a large bloc of people cannot contribute profitably to the economy, what then? This labor market setup seems a harbinger of that. The first to envision this was, I think, Keynes.
Looks like we are going to need to excavate bigger pits in which to bury all the bodies of the less fortunate.
Jobs for grave diggers.
Soylent Green tanks for anyone unemployed for longer than 26 weeks.
From what I can see, millennials and zoomers waste a lot of money. Tattoos, Grub Hub, vapes, expensive coffees, Uber, expensive restaurants. I’m not making a moral judgement as much as I’m amazed that they would put themselves into that much financial stress for such fleeting and insignificant pleasure. It’s like staying up until 4 AM and then being surprised you feel like shit the next day.
To my surprise I find myself in total agreement with your sentiments, its the same here.
JFC, this is why there’s so much generational resentment. Millennial here, and it’s literally none of that.
It’s the fact that a house in the town you grew up in costs 10x the avg annual salary, when a generation ago it cost 4x.
most people I know have tiny apartments, or are couples who rent half a shitty duplex, and it takes 40%+ of their post tax revenue. Let alone a car (necessity in most American cities), and medical, and other real expenses. Let alone trying to have children. Let alone even thinking about retirement or any actual financial goals.
I got all that, but I recognize I’ve had EXTREMELY good fortune, not judging people for spending~$100 a month in the occasional coffee, cigarette and beer to cope with losers like you
Housing costs need to steady, if not slowly decrease, while household income increases +2% a year. Consider demographics such as more homes being on the market as part of a baby boomer’s estate.
Wrenching when enough boomers go from house hoarders to sellers. Housing market price collapse? Creative gov financing may re-enter the picture as in the 1930’s.
Welcome to the human tradition of insulting those generations with fewer days roaming this Earth than one’s self.
Yeah I called them a loser, for calling a while generation of people wasteful because they see an occasional tattoo, and thinking THATs why people are broke.
Calling younger people dumb because your time is past is an even older tradition
Don’t be a snowflake
He didn’t even mention the avocado toast!
It’s amazing at my gym how many younger people I see covering large parts of their bodies with tats. I understand that they are quite expensive.
But more importantly, I doubt any of them know that tattoo inks have been implicated in increasing risk of cancers. For example:
Reminiscent of stats of cigarette smoking through most of the 20th century. A quick online inquiry says it was over 42% of folks in the USA, in 1965.
did someone write lottery? did someone write hustle?
How a Secretive Gambler Called ‘The Joker’ Took Down the Texas Lottery – WSJ (archive.ph)
My tax bracket makes it pretty hard to make side wages worthwhile, but I do have some ‘lottery ticket’ side projects going. I doubt I’ll ever feel ‘secure’…. there’s just too much stupidity in play to have any faith in long term plans.