Why Gen Zers and millennials are looking for second jobs

• The high cost of living is the "top societal concern" of Gen Zers and millennials, a Deloitte survey found.
• Financial concerns have pushed 46% of Gen Zs and 37% of millennials to find a second job.

More and more young people are worried about their finances and looking for second jobs to boost income, according to a survey by consultancy firm Deloitte.

The 2023 survey of more than 22,000 Gen Zers and millennials around the world found the high cost of living is the "top societal concern" of both generations, with 51% of Gen Zers and 52% millennials reporting they live paycheck to paycheck.

The survey found "Gen Zs and millennials are responding to financial pressures by taking on side jobs (on the rise compared to 2022), postponing big life decisions like buying a house or starting a family, and adopting behaviors that save money (and help the environment) such as buying second-hand clothes or not driving a car."

Also, 46% of Gen Zs and 37% of millennials have taken on either a part- or full-time paying job in addition to their primary position, according to the survey.

"A lot of these jobs, not surprisingly, are jobs that they can leverage technology and social media platforms to fulfill," Michele Parmelee, a global people and purpose leader at Deloitte who worked on the research, told HR Brew.

According to Deloitte's survey, a lot of the side jobs are tech- or social media-dependent. Top side jobs are usually related to selling products or services online, gig work such as food delivery or ride-sharing apps, and social media influencing. Though of course, it depends on your skillset and how quickly one wants to generate income.

And while money was the top reason for taking a second job, developing "important skills and relationships," hobbies, and helping "turn off/focus on something other than my job" were other key drivers.

Many young workers are taking on side hustles. Insider contributor Eve Upton-Clark recently wrote: "Social media is filled with examples: Young people are drop-shipping, Amazon reselling, investing in crypto, selling vintage clothing, and inventing their own content-creation jobs. In the midst of an uncertain economy and precarious job market, Gen Z is turning up the hustle."

The survey also showed Gen Zers and millennials are concerned about how economic conditions will hurt their ability to plan for the future, with roughly 55% of both cohorts saying it will become harder or impossible to ask for a raise. Further, 52% of Gen Zs and 51% of millennials think it will become harder or impossible to get a new job, and about half the respondents from both groups think it will become harder or impossible to get a promotion.

It's been widely reported that millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) in their 30s are in a tough economic spot that could stick with them through retirement, and more Americans earning over $100,000 are living paycheck to paycheck due to inflation. However, more millennials now own their own home than rent one, though for some first-time homebuyers there's a bleak outlook.

A March survey of 1,009 adults ages 24 to 35 by TIAA Institute found that 51% of Gen Zers and millennials don't expect to do as well financially as their parents.

Upton-Clark's article pointed out that the pandemic and its economic fallout have further eroded the belief that full-time employment is the best path to success and financial stability. Therefore, Gen Z is not trusting anybody else to take care of their future.

"Our culture has scripts about what makes work worthwhile, not just necessary," Harvard historian and lecturer Erik Baker recently wrote. "And increasingly these scripts do not play out as written."