据USA Today 11月3日报道 新的联邦数据显示，从事两份或两份以上工作的美国人数量达到了自大流行开始以来的最高水平，这一趋势表明更多的人正在感受到通货膨胀的压力。
when just one job isn't enough: why are a growing
（图片来源：USA Today）
美国劳工部11月3日公布的数据显示，今年10月有近840万人拥有多份工作。他们占劳动力总数的5.2%，这是自2020年1月以来兼职者所占比例的最大值。
就业统计数据显示，10月有5.9%的女性从事多份工作，男性为4.7%。大约500万美国人拥有一份全职工作和一份兼职工作。近200万人拥有两份兼职工作。另有110万人表示，他们的工作时间不固定。接近40万人拥有两份全职工作。
报道称，从事多份工作美国人的比例曾在2019年夏季达到5.3%，然后在大流行的最初几个月中急剧下降，并在2020年春季跌至谷底。从那时起，这一数字一直在上升。
人们可能会做第二份工作以应对通货膨胀，或为裁员做准备
专家称，人们参与第二份工作是为了应对通货膨胀，据报道，通胀在2021年推动物价上涨了 4.7%，在2022年推动物价上涨了8%，并在2023年迄今为止推动物价上涨了3.5%。在其中大部分时间里，通货膨胀率都超过了工资增长速度。
Bankrate高级经济分析师马克·哈姆里克（Mark Hamrick）在一封电子邮件中说，“支付生活必需品已成为一项挑战，而对于一些人来说，尤其是那些收入和财富水平较低的人来说，购买奢侈品和可自由支配的物品已变得更加困难，甚至是不可能”。
此外，从事第二份工作的人也可能在为潜在的裁员做准备，因为裁员往往在新年伊始达到高峰。
经济政策研究所高级经济学家伊利斯·古尔德（Elise Gould）指出，“这有一定的季节性”，人们有可能是在为节假日的开销做准备。
她和其他分析师表示，多个工作岗位的上升趋势表明，全美正在恢复季节性就业模式，而这一周期此前因大流行而被打乱。
NerdWallet数据分析师兼高级撰稿人伊丽莎白·伦特（Elizabeth Renter）在一封电子邮件中说，“我认为，总体而言，这表明美国正在恢复大流行前的正常状态”。她分析说，从事一份全职工作和一份兼职工作的人数创下了历史新高，拥有两份全职工作的人数在9月份达到了历史峰值，其中一个原因可能是在家工作的兴起。
远程工作者更有可能从事第二份工作
大流行暴发带了来远程工作的爆炸式增长。远程工作的自由和灵活性激发了一些员工从事第二份工作的想法，有时他们是秘密进行的。
弗吉尼亚大学的经济学家艾玛·哈灵顿（Emma Harrington）也表示，与在办公室工作的员工相比，可以远程工作的员工更有可能身兼数职。
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.
