The number of Americans working multiple jobs reached an all-time high of about 8.9 million in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

About 60% of those multiple jobholders are working full time, with a part-time gig in their off-hours. Others are stringing together multiple part-time jobs.

Anika Seidman-Gati started picking up shifts last spring for a pop-up restaurant in New York City. By day, she’s a therapist for students at a New York college.

She’s used to working multiple jobs and did it for most of her 20s. But after a recent stint as a server from Thursday through Saturday, with shifts that sometimes ended after midnight, she’s finding the balancing act a bit exhausting.

“Now I’m in my mid-30s, so it feels a little different,” said Seidman-Gati. “The body is very tired. Definitely not getting up off the couch on Sunday after a weekend like that.”

Seidman-Gati is 36 and makes about $100,000 at her full-time counseling job. But the $1,100 she made from one weekend at that pop-up restaurant came in handy.

Between her $2,000 rent, longstanding credit card debt and recently resumed student loan payments, money is tighter than she would hope.

“When it comes to looking at the end of the month how much money I have,  when that number is smaller than it used to be, then it definitely feels better to know that there’s a little bit of extra money coming in,” said Seidman-Gati.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 5.4% of U.S. workers had a second job in February.

But because the government asks survey respondents only if someone had multiple jobs in the past week, it’s actually missing a lot of moonlighters.

“This 5.5% is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Lonnie Golden, an economist at Pennsylvania State University. Citing his own research from 2023, he estimates that over 20% of workers worked at least one additional job in the past six months.

Multiple jobholding used to be a countercyclical economic indicator — when growth slowed and the labor market soured, more people patched together part-time work to make ends meet.

But over the last 15 years or so, with the arrival of Uber and Taskrabbit and the broader digital gig-ification of the economy, side hustles are more common. The relationship between multiple jobholding and the broader economy is a bit murkier.

“With platform technology it’s easier for people to take on additional jobs,” said Golden. “Particularly professionals, but nonprofessionals as well.”

Economist Dean Baker at the Center for Economic and Policy Research said while rising prices may be driving some workers to take on extra jobs, he doesn’t think it’s the primary motivation. Wage gains have outpaced inflation in recent years.

But given the economic uncertainty of the past few months, it makes sense that some people are exploring backup options.

“People are reasonably being cautious if they aren’t sure that their main job is going to be there,” said Baker.

A backup plan is a big reason Stephanie Crowe started moonlighting as a real estate agent. She works full time as an office and facilities manager for a law firm in Sacramento, California.

“I’ve seen a lot of people who don’t have a parachute, you know? And it’s just kind of like, wait a second, do I have that? Am I OK?” said Crowe.  

Both Crowe and her husband work multiple jobs and collectively make about $140,000. They have two teenage children in the house. After her husband had a heart attack in 2020, Crowe started taking real estate classes.

The agent job just makes her feel more secure. And the extra income from the couple’s extra gigs is helpful. She figures she’s made about $50,000 over the last couple of years.

“It helps a lot,” she said. “You know, just being able to go buy groceries without a calculator — that’s a huge blessing.”

Crowe said eventually, she’d like to help people buy and sell houses full time.