Why American side hustles are so popular, here to stay: economists [Video]

Usually, after a financial crisis, people spend less money and fewer new businesses launch.

The opposite was true last year, in the Covid-19 pandemic’s wake. Costs of living and inflation remained high, credit card debt in the U.S. increased and Americans’ savings dwindled — yet consumer spending jumped noticeably, and more businesses filed for creation than in pre-Covid 2019.

Welcome to the age of the side hustle, where Americans are increasingly devoted to finding extra money to spend. More than a third of U.S adults — and nearly half of millennials and Gen Z — now have a second stream of income, according to a survey published Wednesday by financial services company Bankrate.

“Overall, it comes down to, ‘I want to spend more, so I need to earn more,” Kayla Bruun, a senior economist at business intelligence firm Morning Consult, tells CNBC Make It.

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The side hustle boom is happening …