TODAY’S NEWS. TOMORROW’S INSIGHTS.A daily newsletter from McKinsey & Company
Edited by Katy McLaughlin Senior Editor, Southern California
Not working 9 to 5. In spite of an unemployment rate that’s at a 53-year low, workers are increasingly turning to independent work to help them ride out inflation and find the flexibility they need to deal with childcare—many of the newest temporary workers are single mothers. The lines between freelance work and steady employment are also blurring, as staffing agencies have begun serving restaurants and retailers to help them fill positions, even for just a few hours at a time. [NYT]
Do the hustle. More Americans are working more than one job: today, 40% have a side hustle, up from 34% two years ago. Supplemental work has long been viewed as a way to make extra cash or have extra fun, but there’s another reason to work on the side: it’s also a good way to develop new talents that can contribute to an employee’s main line of work. Social-media sites, as well as websites specifically for freelancers, are good places to look for skill-polishing side gigs. [CNBC]
Workin’ for a living. McKinsey’s latest American Opportunity Survey (AOS) finds that independent work is booming. In the US, 36% of employed respondents—58 million people when extrapolated from the representative sample—identify as independent workers, up from 27% of the employed population in McKinsey’s previous estimate in 2016. Nearly half of all immigrants report being independent workers, in addition to large numbers of young and lower-income people.
A hard day’s night. Senior partners André Dua and Kweilin Ellingrud and colleagues’ research reveals that independent workers face more challenges, including in accessing healthcare, nutritious food, and transportation, than permanent workers. Nonetheless, independent workers are remarkably more optimistic about economic opportunity than permanent workers. See McKinsey’s data and analysis of this growing but understudied part of the US workforce.
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