There are people who quit their jobs to retire early during the pandemic who are now making their way back to work because the cost of living has risen and they underestimated how much they had to get by.
It can be difficult for those seniors who are going back into the work pool and looking to find some extra work to get by on their bills, there is a lot of competition out there.
The gig economy expands that work opportunity by making it relatively easy to start with a number of companies today.
In some cases there isn't much of an interview and there is such high demand as well for hiring that you can quickly be given an opportunity to start working.
Taking second jobs, doing multiple side hustles, and going back to a full-time position altogether, these are what people are doing to be able to get by and pay their bills.
There are multiple videos online that show seniors doing food delivery orders and some of them have been lucky enough to have group funding efforts set up for them after their stories have gone viral, as there are many people willing to show support because this is something that disturbs a lot of people. They don't want to see seniors, or anyone for that matter, left struggling to survive.
However, aside from those who are working because they have to there are also those who might be working even though they don't need to. Getting out and staying active just might be a preference for some seniors to stay engaged in their communities, the money is just a bonus. For others though it is certainly a necessity and one previous Pew survey found that roughly 16% of Americans have earned money through an online gig platform.
Work to be found through those platforms includes jobs like:
- driving for a ride-hailing app
- shopping for or delivering groceries or household items
- performing household tasks
- making deliveries from a restaurant or store
- package delivery
For most who are doing these jobs the gig economy is going to be a side job and not the main source of income. Despite some seniors already turning to those opportunities and doing some gig work, it looks like the jobs are mostly being worked right now by younger individuals.
There are a lot of individuals who need help and who don't have anyone to rely on to give them a helping hand, community resources around the US have been strained since the pandemic and growing inflation isn't making things any easier.
A large portion of seniors are worried about inflation today and the thought that they might possibly run out of money. Tackling this environment for many right now means trying to save as much as possible and living in survival mode paycheck to paycheck, cutting back as much as possible, not going out, trying to keep up to date on bills and keep a roof over their heads.
Some surveys have suggested that some 80-90% of Americans might be feeling inflation-related anxiety and it is one of the biggest issues on the minds of millions across multiple generations. To go along with that we also see confidence weakening that the Fed can control the situation and there is disagreement as well over what caused the problem, whether or not there is a problem, and what actions might be taken to fix it.
Pics:
pixabay
Sources:
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-07-22/inflation-drives-older-americans-back-to-work
https://www.newson6.com/story/62da9e09fd656e070c416b18/more-american-workers-are-taking-on-second-jobs-as-inflation-rages
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/older-americans-go-back-to-work-in-next-frontier-of-labor-force-1.1794953
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/nearly-90-percent-of-americans-report-inflation-related-anxiety
As much as I appreciate the benefits of the gig economy, the fact is that it does not bode well for long-term sustenance. There are just no benefits beyond collecting a check.
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I was suspecting how many people are doing multiple jobs and I saw this on youtube recently.
So that confirms my suspicion.