The American middle class is always busy – and now they are too sideways stuff.
The share of Americans with more than one job has risen steadily in recent years and is still hovering at a high level. But the multi-job population looks different than it did before the pandemic, with a growing cohort of traditionally more stable Americans now seeking multiple income streams.
The second job is no longer just a survival tactic for the lowest earners, or a nice income boost for the highest earners. It’s becoming increasingly common among college-educated, middle-income Americans and the women of the workforce, who seem to be looking for an extra cushion of stability and income.
An analysis from the Richmond Federal Reserve found that before the pandemic, the share of multiple job holders across income groups was similar, with low, middle and high earners holding multiple jobs in roughly equal proportions.
That has changed in recent years. Middle-income earners are much more likely to work multiple jobs than their lower-earning counterparts, and are just below their higher-earning peers.
At the same time, higher-skilled workers are increasingly creeping into the multi-job workforce. In the 1990s they made up about 35% of those working multiple jobs; They accounted for more than half by 2024, according to the Richmond Fed’s analysis.
At the same time, the number of women working multiple jobs has increased in recent years, according to the latest employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The gender gap in working multiple jobs has widened, meaning more women – especially those between the ages of 20 and 24 – are working in different roles. That follows true with a working population women are outnumbered by men with a university degree, and younger women in some areas earn more than their male counterparts.
Taken together, the data indicates that college-educated and traditionally affluent Americans are feeling the urge to bring in multiple income streams. Side hustles are becoming increasingly common in the economy, with the share of Americans curbing a side hustle rising from 19% in 2017 to 27% in 2025, according to a Bankrate survey. Official measures of holding multiple jobs also often fail to fully capture the number of workers participating in gig work, as the BLS rate measures workers who have at least one traditional salaried job.
And that could reveal how employees feel about their prospects. Women have lost jobs In recent months, the white-collar world has been rocked by layoffs attributed to AI. Taking one new job is risky – employees say it will take more than ever to lure them out of their roles – so an extra job could provide more reassurance. For highly educated workers, middle-income earners and women, a side job can be a buffer against an increasingly unstable labor market.
