More Americans are turning to second jobs as the holidays approach and inflation rates continue to soar, making many pinch pennies.
A new jobs report for October from the Labor Department showed that the percent of Americans working a part-time job on top of their full time job rose six percent from one year ago.
That number equals out to 4.5 million individuals overall.
Additionally, employers added 261,000 new jobs last month. The number is the lowest since December 2020, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Job growth has steadily decreased since this time last year, with just 261,000 added in October 2022
While inflation is down slightly from a 40-year-high in June of 9.1 percent, the 8.2 percent is still higher than at any point in the previous four decades
More Americans are picking up second jobs as the holiday season looms and inflation rates continue to stay high
Unemployment numbers currently hover around 3.7 percent, up .2 percent from September.
‘The unemployment rate has been in a narrow range of 3.5 percent to 3.7 percent since March,’ the jobs report for October said.
Wage gains were up month to month, but overall, were in October ticked up from the previous month. On an annual basis, however, wage gains have cooled off.
The Wall Street Journal spoke with one man, Antonio Torres, 29, who took on an additional job washing dishes and like cooking to supplement some extra income.
‘I had to do what I had to do to not fall behind,’ Torres told the publication.
The man said he has worked full time as an asphalt paver for six years and this is the first time he has had to add a second stream of income to make ends meet.
He told the outlet that the extra job brings in $200 extra each week.
The increase in pricing for average household items like milk, eggs, and butter has driven many to consider or take on a second job
A survey conducted by Qualtrics of 1,000 full-time employees found that nearly 40 percent had already started looking for a full time job and another 14 percent were planning to do so.
‘With budgets tightening, workers are searching for ways to meet the rising cost of living, including finding new jobs,’ said Qualtrics Chief Workplace Psychologist Dr. Benjamin Granger in an interview with ABC.
In September, 7.8 million Americans were reported to have been working more than one job.
Additionally, 440,000 Americans were working two full-time jobs in August. That number is up significantly from 308,000 in February of 2020.
Inflation and the economy will be top of mind for many Americans heading into the voting booth come Election Day
Additionally, more white-collar workers are also looking to second jobs amid the high inflation rates and increasingly expensive cost of living.
Jennifer Knippenberg with Kelly Services Inc. told the Wall Street Journal that just one in 100 white collar workers were looking for a second job in the past.
That number has risen astronomically, now at one in 30.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky also recently said his company has seen an increase in the number of people renting out their homes. He attributed the rise to the uncertainty in the economy.
Research from Zippia showed that some of the most popular second jobs include driving for services like Uber and Lyft, renting out their homes and apartments, waiting tables and bartending, tutoring, and mystery shopping.
The economy is top of mind for most voters going into Tuesday’s election
‘Just like during the Great Recession in 2008 when [Airbnb launched], people today are especially interested in earning extra income through hosting,’ Chesky said last month.
‘As the economy slows down, I think people are looking for more ways to make either supplemental income or a greater yield on the assets they have,’ he added, ‘so whether it’s second homes or primary homes, I think there is going to be a pretty big opportunity for us.’
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi echoed Chesky’s statements during a recent earnings call where she said seven in 10 driver say ‘that one of the considerations of their signing up to drive on Uber was inflation.’
Khosrowshahi said that the income earned on the transportation app ‘helps them afford their groceries, be more comfortable in an environment where real wages are fairly weak as it relates to the inflationary environment.’
Biden got some mildly good news earlier this week when it was announced the country’s GDP grew by 2.6 percent in the third quarter of 2022, the first time it had grown since the fourth quarter of 2021
A recent NPR/PBS Newshour/Marist poll also found that nearly one in three Americans said inflation was one of their primary concerns going into the election.
In September, inflation rates were at 8.2 percent, down .8 percent from June.
June’s number was the highest rate the United States has seen since 1981.
President Joe Biden recently came under fire after he stretched the truth during an interview where he claimed that the United States wasn’t suffering record inflation.
A reporter from News Nation asked: ‘You’ve referred to the midterm election as a choice rather than a referendum. Given record inflation, why should voters choose Democrats?’
Biden replied: ‘Because it’s not record inflation anymore, I’m bringing it down. Look what we inherited.’
While inflation is down slightly from a 40-year-high in June of 9.1 percent, the 8.2 percent is still higher than at any point in the previous four decades.
Biden got some good news last week, however, when it was announced the country’s GDP grew by 2.6 percent in the third quarter of 2022, the first time it had grown since the fourth quarter of 2021.
‘We’re down $1.25 Since the peak this summer, and they’ve been falling for the last three weeks as well as well, and adding up real savings for families today.,’ Biden said.
‘The most common price of gas in America is $3.39 down from over $5 When I took office,’ he continued.
The average cost of a gallon of gas on the AAA site was $3.76 Thursday. When he took office, it was averaging $2.39 – or about half what he said it was then – according to the Energy Information Institute.
Restaurants, grocery stores, and deli owners are already announcing that they have been impacted by the 2022 turkey shortage, just weeks ahead of Thanksgiving dinner, as avian flu killed 7.3 million birds
Earlier this week, DailyMail.com reported that Americans may have to choose a new centerpiece for their Thanksgiving dinners as a turkey shortage and inflation rates have rocked the U.S.
Restaurants, grocery stores, and deli owners across the country have already announced that they have been impacted by the 2022 turkey shortage, just weeks ahead of Thanksgiving dinner.
Businesses are struggling to obtain turkey as inflation drives prices up and avian flu killed 3.6 percent, or roughly 7.3 million of the nation’s turkey population.
Prices have skyrocketed up 112 percent for fresh, skinless turkey breasts compared to last year, and frozen turkeys are retailing for an average of $1.99 pound, which is 73 percent higher, the USDA reported.
‘It’s a huge problem,’ Adam Mesnick, owner of San Francisco-based sandwich shop Deli Board, told the San Francisco Gate. ‘I try to do the best that we can to find a product to replace it, but there’s really no replacement for turkey.
‘It’s gonna be a poultry s**t show for the rest of this year. Stash a bird in the freezer for Thanksgiving, don’t tell me I didn’t tell you so.’