‘Side hustles’ are now a survival strategy for many UK workers

A growing number of UK workers are holding down more than one job because what was once a side hustle to pursue a passion or provide a little extra cash has become a financial lifeline for many people. According to Employment Hero’s 2025 Annual Jobs Report, 21 percent of UK employees now work multiple jobs. The trend is especially marked among Gen Z, of whom 42 percent say they juggle more than one role just to make ends meet. The report, based on insights gathered from more than 350,000 small businesses and two million employees across Australia, New Zealand and the UK, plus a YouGov survey of 3,635 UK workers, highlights a workforce under pressure from cost-of-living challenges and a cooling labour market. Among full-time employees, 17 percent now also hold additional roles. Nearly a third (29 percent) of all workers surveyed say they have taken on extra hours to cope with rising everyday expenses.

Kevin Fitzgerald, UK Managing Director at Employment Hero, said: “Our data shows how the side hustle has transformed from a choice into a necessity. … Unless cost-of-living pressures ease, second jobs will remain less about opportunity and more about survival.” Nina Skero, Chief Executive of the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), warned that while the adaptability of workers is notable, these trends underscore how fragile the UK labour market currently is.

The survey is published on the heels of reports of increased moonlighting in the public sector, where some civil servants have held multiple full-time roles without appropriate oversight. A Cabinet Office investigation via the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) uncovered at least one case in 2022-23 where a civil servant was paid by several departments simultaneously while holding separate vetting clearances in each department without all departments being aware. That person was dismissed. The same initiative found that fraud and errors across the public sector between 2022 and 2024 may total about £510 million, in part due to such polygamous working arrangements.