A increasing number of Americans are taking on second jobs to make ends meet as U.S. inflation outpaces worker pay.
Many people have already cut back on their spending where they can, and some have even used their pandemic savings to pay for rising prices for things like food, gas, rent, and other necessities.
Nevertheless, millions more households are being negatively impacted by the biggest inflation in 40 years.
According to a recent survey, 75% of middle-class Americans claim that their salary is insufficient to cover their living expenses.
Mark Cohen, a professor at Columbia Business School, told CBS MoneyWatch that there are only so many credit cards you can load up and so many purchases you can put off before you have to face the possibility of taking on a second job.
“It’s about how much money you make and how much money you spend each month – if you’re in a deficit position, you need to find another employment or another job,” the expert said.
According to data from the St. Louis Federal Reserve, as the pandemic broke out in the United States in 2020, 4% of those who were employed did so.
That number had increased by almost a full percentage point by June of this year.
Even though fewer people now work multiple jobs, more Americans than ever before work two full-time jobs, or more than 70 hours per week, than ever before.
Federal labor statistics show that in June, 426,000 workers had two full-time jobs, up from 308,000 in February 2020.
Additionally, more employees are having financial difficulties.
Experts point out that trend also indicates the solid work possibilities and healthy job market in the United States.
According to historical trends, the proportion of employees who hold several jobs increases during times of robust labor markets and decreases during times of poor labor markets, according to Heidi Shierholz, head of the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute.
“Essentially, it comes down to job availability.
As the labor market has grown, we are observing an increase in the number of jobs held simultaneously.”
“There is no time to waste”
One such person who holds down two jobs is Crissen Murphy from Rockford, Illinois.
The 29-year-old runs Murphy’s Portable Wash, a mobile car wash and detailing company, in addition to his full-time job as a sales representative for water delivery service Hinckley Springs.
Murphy told CBS MoneyWatch, “I just do it on the weekends for extra cash to help pay bills.
He is able to control his costs for the most part.
I eat bread sandwiches, I’m a really basic man,” he stated.
The additional work enables him to pay expenses like an increased power bill and rising gas rates.
Murphy has been forced to be extremely structured by working two jobs. There is no time to waste, he declared.