The hustle economy is alive and well, even if it feels out of necessity.
With the rise of AI, a perilous economy, and mitigating factors such as inflation and rising costs becoming the norm in America, more and more Black Americans are relying on multiple jobs to get by, even as a large swath of layoffs has occurred across the job market, namely for Black women.
A new study from Deputy titled “The Big Shift 2026” reveals that even as a major change is occurring in frontline roles, with Gen Z leading the charge in accepting those positions, “polyworking” has become far more common in households across the country than in years past. Polyworking is the practice of holding multiple full-time jobs. Just two years ago, Deputy outlined poly-working or poly-employment as a counter to the “escalating cost of living, a growing percentage of workers are engaging in multiple job roles, leading to the emergence of poly-employment as a notable trend.”
According to the study, polyworking was dominated by millennials and women working in health care and hospitality in 2025. Now, that area is being dominated by the youth. Gen Z has overtaken millennials as the dominant force in polyworking, making up 55 percent of those holding multiple jobs, while men represent the face of the phenomenon at 53 percent.
The shift exposes a “growing divide between those choosing flexibility and those forced into it.”
Years before Deputy released its study, Black men and women were ahead of the curve in the practice. Before polyworking got rebranded, it was considered a side-hustle, working the gig economy, all in the name of personal fulfillment, reduced job burnout, variety, networking opportunities and more. Due to the rise of hybrid and remote work, it has become increasingly clear that those now shaping the workforce for Black America, despite massive cuts in the federal job sector, are workers who found the flexibility to do more amid a stagnant economy and ever-rising cost of living.
However, there is a counteract to polyworking: the fear of burnout, or job strain.
In a 2025 Monster study, 29 percent of participants said polyworking increased their productivity, while 31 percent said it decreased it. Still, a little more than a quarter of participants believed that continued polyworking could become a detriment to their mental health over time, given the nature of Black men and women in the workforce and how stress is one of the biggest causes for Black men and women leaving a job, ranging from microaggressions to discrimination and more.
As the workforce gets younger, namely in sectors such as health care and hospitality, the desire to work more than one job continues to grow nationwide, not out of want, but out of need. In March 2025, over 8.9 million Americans had at least more than one full-time or part-time jobs, the highest figure since 1994.
Until wages, stability, and more continue to grow, expect that number to keep rising.
