A survey done by Bluecrew, a workforce-as-a-service platform, found that around 70% of Americans say they are turning to a second job to combat inflation.
85% of Americans say they've already changed their spending habits accordingly. 72% say inflation has impacted the way they view their job. 57% are actively looking for a new or additional job.
Due to high inflation and other economic concerns, there has been a huge rebound in labor force participation rates and the number of hours people are willing to work.
Employers have been hiring in a tight market and have taken to increasing pay to try to edge out the competition. Flexible schedules, free food, and employee recognition are all examples of perks employers are offering to attempt to beat out competitors.
However, despite the competitive job market, the looming recession has caused some companies to be more conservative. Walmart recently announced plans to hire 40,000 workers for the holiday season, which is a huge decline from the 150,000 retail and 20,000 supply workers that were hired last year
Workers are now saying that the rate of pay is their number one priority when searching for new employment opportunities. Location, scheduling, flexibility, and opportunities for growth follow close behind. Many workers are also turning to side hustles to pull in some extra cash.
Companies that were facing severe labor shortages are now dealing with workers flooding the job market. The unemployment rate has plummeted to 3.7%, which is close to the pre-pandemic levels.