Wages, Politics & the Upcoming Election — Part 2

As we did last week, and will do for the next couple of weeks, Weekly Industry News is looking at wages. Our reason is because a living wage is going to be a big part of the political debate we’ll all be watching, hearing and reading between now and the election in November.

Something that has picked up over the last decade or so is the gig economy. A lot of people are working that second — and sometimes their primary job — in a gig-like job.

BankRate.com calls these gig jobs, a “side hustle.” These so-called side hustles can evolve from a hobby or something picked up on one of those gig applications. The Bankrate Side Hustles Survey found that 36% of us are doing a side hustle.

That’s over one-third of the nation.

For most of those in that 36%, the side hustle helps them pay the bills and put food on the table. In order to make ends meet, 32% of those surveyed said they’ll have to do their side hustle from now until retirement to survive.

Before we dig deeper into the survey, some observations from BankRate.

• On average a side hustle brings in about $891 of extra money each month
• That’s up from $810 in 2023
• 52% of side hustlers have been doing so for two years or less
• 37% use side hustle money for discretionary spending
• 36% use it to help pay living expenses
• 31% save some of their side hustle money
• 20% use it to pay down debt

Here’s a look at the number of people doing side hustles in each generation:

• Generation Z (ages 18-27): 48 percent
• Millennials (ages 28-43): 44 percent
• Generation X (ages 44-59): 33 percent
• Baby boomers (ages 60-78): 23 percent

The survey found people with young children are more likely to have a side hustle than those without kids or those with adult children.

• Parent/guardian of any children younger than 18: 45 percent
• Not a parent/guardian: 36 percent
• Parent/guardian of any children 18 or over: 28 percent

BankRate’s Senior Industry Analyst is Ted Rossman. He attributes most side hustling to people just trying to keep up with the cost of living. Rossman said that is especially true for younger people.

“Side hustles are a little less common this year than they were last year, but many Americans are still finding that one job isn’t enough. The cost of living has risen sharply in recent years,” Rossman says.

Here are the overall statistics of how much people earn from their side hustles:

• $1 - $50 — 25%
• $51 - $100 — 17%
• $101 - $200 — 11%
• $201 - $300 — 7%
• $301 - $500 — 15%
• $500 - $1,000 — 17%
• $1,001 - $2,000 — 5%
• More than $2,000 — 4%

Generation Z

• $1 - $50 — 37%
• $51 - $100 — 10%
• $101 - $200 — 13%
• $201 - $300 — 8%
• $301 - $500 — 12%
• $500 - $1,000 — 5%
• $1,001 - $2,000 — 6%
• More than $2,000 — 10%

Millennials

• $1 - $50 — 24%
• $51 - $100 — 11%
• $101 - $200 — 10%
• $201 - $300 — 8%
• $301 - $500 — 14%
• $500 - $1,000 — 12%
• $1,001 - $2,000 — 8%
• More than $2,000 — 14%

Generation X

• $1 - $50 — 17%
• $51 - $100 — 12%
• $101 - $200 — 16%
• $201 - $300 — 9%
• $301 - $500 — 18%
• $500 - $1,000 — 13%
• $1,001 - $2,000 — 9%
• More than $2,000 — 7%

Babyboomers

• $1 - $50 — 25%
• $51 - $100 — 17%
• $101 - $200 — 11%
• $201 - $300 — 7%
• $301 - $500 — 15%
• $500 - $1,000 — 17%
• $1,001 - $2,000 — 5%
• More than $2,000 — 4%

Here’s the average per month per generation:

• Gen Z side hustlers: $958
• Millennial side hustlers: $1,129
• Gen X side hustlers: $751
• Baby boomer side hustlers: $561

The per-generation numbers of those doing side hustles:

• 21% of those belong to Gen Z are doing a side hustle
• 34% of Millennials are doing side hustles
• 29% of Generation X are doing a side hustle
• 26% of Baby Boomers are doing a side hustle

Breaking things down between men and women:

• 38% of men have a side hustle
• Men average $1,034 per month with their side hustle
• 33% of women have a side hustle
• Women average just $735 per month

Here’s more from the survey starting with how long people have been doing a side hustle.

Overall

• Less than a year — 24%
• 1 to 2 years — 28%
• 3 to 5 years — 25%
• 6 to 10 years — 13%
• 11 to 20 years — 5%
• More than 20 years — 5%

Generation Z

• Less than a year — 39%
• 1 to 2 years — 38%
• 3 to 5 years — 17%
• 6 to 10 years — 6%

Millennials

• Less than a year — 18%
• 1 to 2 years — 34%
• 3 to 5 years — 31%
• 6 to 10 years — 14%
• 11 to 20 years — 4%

Generation X

• Less than a year — 19%
• 1 to 2 years — 18%
• 3 to 5 years — 26%
• 6 to 10 years — 19%
• 11 to 20 years — 7%
• More than 20 years — 12%

Baby boomers

• Less than a year — 22%
• 1 to 2 years — 20%
• 3 to 5 years — 23%
• 6 to 10 years — 13%
• 11 to 20 years — 12%
• More than 20 years — 11%

What are people spending their side hustle income on:

Overall

• I use my side hustle to fund discretionary purchases — 37%
• I use my side hustle income to pay for regular living expenses (housing, food, etc.) — 36%
• I think I'll always need a side hustle to make ends meet — 32%
• I save at least some of my side hustle income — 31%
• I use my side hustle to pay down debt — 20%
• I want my side hustle to develop into my main source of income — 16%
• None of these — 6%

Generation Z

• I use my side hustle to fund discretionary purchases — 39%
• I use my side hustle income to pay for regular living expenses (housing, food, etc.) — 29%
• I think I'll always need a side hustle to make ends meet — 25%
• I save at least some of my side hustle income — 40%
• I use my side hustle to pay down debt — 17%
• I want my side hustle to develop into my main source of income — 18%
• None of these — 5%

Millennials

• I use my side hustle to fund discretionary purchases — 38%
• I use my side hustle income to pay for regular living expenses (housing, food, etc.) — 39%
• I think I'll always need a side hustle to make ends meet — 35%
• I save at least some of my side hustle income — 31%
• I use my side hustle to pay down debt — 21%
• I want my side hustle to develop into my main source of income — 20%
• None of these — 5%

Generation X

• I use my side hustle to fund discretionary purchases — 33%
• I use my side hustle income to pay for regular living expenses (housing, food, etc.) — 39%
• I think I'll always need a side hustle to make ends meet — 32%
• I save at least some of my side hustle income — 30%
• I use my side hustle to pay down debt — 21%
• I want my side hustle to develop into my main source of income — 13%
• None of these — 4%

Baby boomers

• I use my side hustle to fund discretionary purchases — 39%
• I use my side hustle income to pay for regular living expenses (housing, food, etc.) — 36%
• I think I'll always need a side hustle to make ends meet — 33%
• I save at least some of my side hustle income — 22%
• I use my side hustle to pay down debt — 21%
• I want my side hustle to develop into my main source of income — 9%
• None of these — 12%

Source link: BankRate.com — https://bit.ly/4bLtdXh