Inflation and rent increases are hitting young people hard, forcing some to take drastic measures.
Faced with rent increases, price hikes and stagnant wages, young people are hustling for income on the side, to make ends meet.
Outside of her full-time 9-5 office gig, Rose tutors French and Italian over Zoom, delivers online food orders, and sells the pot plants she propagates in her crowded Sydney apartment.
“Lockdown kind of changed things — it made me want to have a bit more stability in my life,” she said.
At the same time, the prices of most things are going up. Average weekly rental payments have increased almost 10 per cent over the past year, while inflation is rising at its fastest rate since 1990.
Fruit and vegetable prices have risen almost 6 per cent in the June quarter alone.
Wages grew 2.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2022, or less than inflation, meaning the average wage shrunk.
For Rose, side-hustling is a way to break even while still going out. Tutoring brings in up to $100 a week, food delivery anything from $100-$200, and selling plants nets less than $50.
“The side hustles can be about an extra $200-$400 a week sometimes,” she said.
“It turns out that I don’t have as much disposable income at the end, once I’ve paid all my bills.”
COVID and lockdowns have seen the rate of what the ABS calls “multiple-job holding” bounce around over the last few years.
Towards the end of last year, with lockdowns easing, the number of multiple-job holders jumped 13.1 per cent.
According to the ABS, just under 900,000 Australians were working more than one job in the December quarter — more than at any other time since the bureau started keeping such records in 1994. But not all age groups were affected equally.
Young people were generally more exposed to inflation than older Australians, said Impact Economics and Policy lead economist Angela Jackson.
“The price rises facing younger people are much higher than the average figure.”
Also, young people were more likely to have been unemployed during the pandemic, and have depleted their savings.
“They might not have that buffer,” she said. “They’re facing rising costs with nothing behind them.”