Workers pick up extra jobs to pay for gas and and food

While a tight labor market pushed wages up, it has not been enough to keep up withing rising inflation, which hit a 40-year high in June. Albert Elliot, a worker has been fuelling up his car in increments of $15, $20 and $25 to make the 60-mile commute from Fayetteville to the Amazon warehouse in Raleigh where he makes $15.75 an hour. In June, gas prices got so high that Elliot took on a second job as a janitor in a community college working extra days for $10 an hour. 

This has been the case for many workers across the country. Elliot says, "Gas is just through the roof. Unless it’s payday, I put in all the money I have at the time, sometimes borrowing money from family and friends." “I began to realize that what I was making at Amazon was not enough to pay for gas. My biggest concern is not being able to get to work to make any money. You have to pretty much rob Peter to pay Paul", he adds. 

The percentage of employed workers working multiple jobs has steadily increased from 4 to 4.8% since March 2020. In February 2020, 5.1% of workers in the United States held two or more jobs. Typically it is a sign of a healthy job market when people pick up more jobs but it is also a sign of increasing financial strain on Americans’ pocketbooks. Workers are now increasingly taking up second full-time jobs to make ends meet. 

Source: The Washington Post