風蕭蕭_Frank
以文會友
據USA Today 11月3日報道 新的聯邦數據顯示，從事兩份或兩份以上工作的美國人數量達到了自大流行開始以來的最高水平，這一趨勢表明更多的人正在感受到通貨膨脹的壓力。
when just one job isn't enough: why are a growing
（圖片來源：USA Today）
美國勞工部11月3日公布的數據顯示，今年10月有近840萬人擁有多份工作。他們占勞動力總數的5.2%，這是自2020年1月以來兼職者所占比例的最大值。
就業統計數據顯示，10月有5.9%的女性從事多份工作，男性為4.7%。大約500萬美國人擁有一份全職工作和一份兼職工作。近200萬人擁有兩份兼職工作。另有110萬人表示，他們的工作時間不固定。接近40萬人擁有兩份全職工作。
報道稱，從事多份工作美國人的比例曾在2019年夏季達到5.3%，然後在大流行的最初幾個月中急劇下降，並在2020年春季跌至穀底。從那時起，這一數字一直在上升。
人們可能會做第二份工作以應對通貨膨脹，或為裁員做準備
專家稱，人們參與第二份工作是為了應對通貨膨脹，據報道，通脹在2021年推動物價上漲了 4.7%，在2022年推動物價上漲了8%，並在2023年迄今為止推動物價上漲了3.5%。在其中大部分時間裏，通貨膨脹率都超過了工資增長速度。
Bankrate高級經濟分析師馬克·哈姆裏克（Mark Hamrick）在一封電子郵件中說，“支付生活必需品已成為一項挑戰，而對於一些人來說，尤其是那些收入和財富水平較低的人來說，購買奢侈品和可自由支配的物品已變得更加困難，甚至是不可能”。
此外，從事第二份工作的人也可能在為潛在的裁員做準備，因為裁員往往在新年伊始達到高峰。
經濟政策研究所高級經濟學家伊利斯·古爾德（Elise Gould）指出，“這有一定的季節性”，人們有可能是在為節假日的開銷做準備。
她和其他分析師表示，多個工作崗位的上升趨勢表明，全美正在恢複季節性就業模式，而這一周期此前因大流行而被打亂。
NerdWallet數據分析師兼高級撰稿人伊麗莎白·倫特（Elizabeth Renter）在一封電子郵件中說，“我認為，總體而言，這表明美國正在恢複大流行前的正常狀態”。她分析說，從事一份全職工作和一份兼職工作的人數創下了曆史新高，擁有兩份全職工作的人數在9月份達到了曆史峰值，其中一個原因可能是在家工作的興起。
遠程工作者更有可能從事第二份工作
大流行暴發帶了來遠程工作的爆炸式增長。遠程工作的自由和靈活性激發了一些員工從事第二份工作的想法，有時他們是秘密進行的。
弗吉尼亞大學的經濟學家艾瑪·哈靈頓（Emma Harrington）也表示，與在辦公室工作的員工相比，可以遠程工作的員工更有可能身兼數職。
When just one job isn't enough: Why are a growing number of Americans taking on multiple gigs?
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2023/11/03/more-americans-working-multiple-jobs-under-inflation/71441008007/
By Daniel de Visé Nov. 3, 2023
The number of Americans working two or more jobs has reached its highest level since the pandemic’s start, new federal data show, a trend that suggests more of us are feeling inflation’s pinch.
Nearly 8.4 million people held multiple jobs in October, the Labor Department reported Friday. They represent 5.2% of the workforce, the largest share of moonlighters since January 2020.
Employment statistics show that 5.9% of women worked multiple jobs in October, compared with 4.7% of men. Roughly 5 million Americans held one full-time and one part-time job. Nearly 2 million held two part-time gigs. Another 1.1 million said they held jobs where the hours varied. Fewer than 400,000 held two full-time jobs.
The share of Americans working multiple jobs reached 5.3% in the summer of 2019, then plunged during the early months of the pandemic, bottoming out in the spring of 2020. The figure has crept up since then.
People may be taking a second job to fight inflation, or to brace for layoffs
Experts say people may be taking on extra work in response to inflation, which pushed prices up 4.7% in 2021, 8% in 2022 and 3.5% so far in 2023. Inflation has outpaced wage growth through much of that span.
“Paying for necessities has become more of a challenge, and affording luxuries and discretionary items has become more difficult, if not impossible for some, particularly those at the lower ends of the income and wealth spectrums,” said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate, in an email.
People who take a second job may also be bracing for possible layoffs, which tend to peak at the start of a new year. They could be padding their coffers for the holidays.
“There’s some seasonality to it,” said Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute. “People picking up jobs during the holidays, things like that.”
She and other analysts said the upward trend in multiple jobs shows the nation returning to seasonal employment patterns, a cycle disrupted by the pandemic.
“I think, overall, it points to a return to pre-pandemic normal,” said Elizabeth Renter, data analyst and senior writer at NerdWallet, in an email. If the share of multiple job holders continues to rise, she said, “it could be indicative of a more significant underlying trend.”
Renter notes that the number of people working one full-time and one part-time job stands at an all-time high. The number of workers with two full-time jobs reached a historic peak in September.
One reason, she said, could be the rise of working from home.
Remote workers are more likely to take a second job
The pandemic triggered an explosion of remote work. The freedom and flexibility it offers have inspired some employees to take on second jobs, sometimes in secret.
“More jobs allow telecommuting now, making it easier to take on two jobs, even two full-time jobs,” Renter said. Workers “save time by not dealing with a commute and may have more freedom to set their schedule, leading to increased productivity.”
Job market cools:The economy added 150,000 jobs in October as hiring slowed, report shows
Indeed, employees who can work remotely are more likely to take on multiple jobs than workers in office-bound roles, said Emma Harrington, an economist at the University of Virginia.
Since the start of the pandemic, the share of workers holding multiple jobs “has recovered more and, suggestively, even sometimes exceeds pre-covid levels among those with ‘remotable’ occupations,” Harrington said in an email.
