We shouldn't need a side hustle

When the creator economy rises out of need instead of joy

Image created via Midjourney

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 5.2% of Americans have more than one job. That's staggeringly different from multiple surveys that have found that around 1/3 of Americans have some kind of side hustle. Bankrate found that the number has jumped considerably since 2017, when 19% of U.S. adults reported more than one job.

Of course, surveys are often unscientific and don't always capture the right mix of people to be fully representative. But the BLS data might also fall short. In an article for Politico, former U.S. Comptroller of the Currency Eugene Ludwig set out to uncover the difference between the data reported and what everyday people are experiencing. He wrote:

"Our research revealed that the data collected by the various agencies is largely accurate. Moreover, the people staffing those agencies are talented and well-intentioned. But the filters used to compute the headline statistics are flawed. As a result, they paint a much rosier picture of reality than bears out on the ground."