Side Hustles Are Disappearing for the First Time in Nearly a Decade. Here's What That Actually Means

Side hustles are having a moment, just not the kind you'd think. For the first time since 2017, the number of Americans with a side hustle is shrinking. According to a Bankrate survey published in July, just 27% of working Americans now report having a second stream of income — down nine percentage points from 36% in 2024.

Remember When Everyone Had a Side Hustle?

Two years ago, side hustle culture was at an all-time high. Dog walking, driving for rideshare apps, running an Etsy shop — millions of people picked up extra gigs just to cover regular living expenses during a stretch of record-high inflation and post-pandemic chaos. It wasn't really optional for a lot of people. It was survival mode with a cute Instagram aesthetic.

Bankrate's Ted Rossman points to a simple reason for the shift: the job market has been solid, and wage growth has outpaced inflation for a few years now, giving people some breathing room they didn't have before.

Fewer Side Hustles Doesn't Mean Less Hustle, It Means Less Desperation

Here's the reframe worth sitting with: people aren't quitting their side hustles because they've stopped caring about money. They're quitting because they don't need the extra income just to survive anymore. The Bankrate survey found that the Americans who do still have side hustles are increasingly using that extra cash for discretionary spending, not to cover basic bills.

That's a meaningful shift. Side income going toward "want to" instead of "have to" is a sign of actual financial breathing room, even with cost-of-living anxiety still very real for a lot of people.

But don't get too comfortable. Inflation has started creeping back up — the consumer price index rose 2.7% over the year through June, a slight bump from May's 2.4% rate. And economists are already floating the idea that if the economy softens further, side hustles could make a comeback, especially among 18-to-44-year-olds who are already used to juggling multiple income streams.

What This Actually Means for Your Finances

Don't drop a side hustle just because everyone else is. If your extra income is funding your emergency fund, your Roth IRA, or your debt payoff plan, keep going. The point was never to have a side hustle forever — it's to use it strategically while it serves a real goal.

If you kept your side hustle, redirect the "why." If your side income used to cover groceries and now covers vacations, that's genuinely good news, but it's also a good moment to make sure a chunk of it is still going toward savings or investing, not just lifestyle upgrades.

Treat side hustle income as a skill, not just a paycheck. Even if you scale back the hours, the ability to generate a second income stream is valuable on its own. Keep the client list warm, keep the Etsy shop active at a lower volume — it's a lot easier to ramp something back up than to start from zero if you need it again.

Watch the inflation number, not just the headlines. A 2.7% CPI reading isn't alarming on its own, but the direction matters. If it keeps climbing, it may be worth having a side hustle plan ready to reactivate rather than starting to think about one for the first time under pressure.

Having a Side Hustle Is a Tool, Not a Personality

The decline in side hustles isn't a sign people got lazy — it's a sign the economy gave a lot of people some slack for once. Use that slack wisely. Keep your financial goals moving, keep your skills sharp, and don't wait for the next squeeze to figure out your plan B.