Half of U.S. workers say they have a side job or some form of supplemental income, according to a study by financial services company LendingClub.
This is according to the 60% of consumers who said they were employed in the February survey.
Of those workers, 27% of high-income and 26% of middle-income earners said they have side jobs. But the high-income earners were more likely than average to have money coming from some sort of supplemental income, rather than a side gig.
About 70% of the consumers not living paycheck to paycheck who had a side job said they did so because the money was easy to earn, while 56% said it was because they enjoyed the work.
On the other hand, 46% of workers struggling to make ends meet said they have side jobs out of necessity, to help pay the bills.
This comes as inflation has pushed up cost of living expenses, from groceries to housing.
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Overall, nearly 62% of US workers said they live paycheck to paycheck with issues paying bills, and about 66% live paycheck to paycheck without issues paying bills.
Just over half of US workers say they don’t live paycheck to paycheck.
Despite economic challenges, evidence suggests consumers are doing better to adjust to inflation, with fewer reporting difficulties paying bills in February.
"As pandemic-related financial benefits were pulled back by the government, more and more people turned to alternative income to make ends meet and manage their cash flow," Anuj Nayar, financial health officer at LendingClub, said in a press release.
"What is clear: no matter your income bracket, having supplemental income greatly impacts financial stability and can often mean the difference between living without difficulty and living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to pay monthly bills," continued Nayar.
The number of workers with extra income is expected to grow, with about half of consumers who haven’t received supplemental income in the past three months saying they are at least somewhat likely to seek out another source of cash flow in the next 12 months.
