Monday, November 6, 2023

The Daily Money: More Americans are taking on multiple gigs

High inflation has led to more Americans working at least two jobs and more seniors saying Social Secuirty check hikes are falling short.

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The Daily Money

ALL THE MONEY NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Mon Nov 6 2023

 

Bailey Schulz Money Reporter

@bailey_schulz

Happy Monday, Daily Money readers. It's Bailey Schulz here to bring you the day's top headlines.

The number of Americans working two or more jobs has reached its highest level since the pandemic's start. Nearly 8.4 million people – 5.2% of the workforce – held multiple jobs in October. It's the largest share of moonlighters since January 2020.

Experts say people may be taking on extra work in response to inflation , which pushed prices up 4.7% in 2021, 8% in 2022 and 3.5% so far in 2023. People could also be bracing for possible layoffs, which tend to peak at the start of a new year, or padding their coffers for the holidays.

"Paying for necessities has become more of a challenge, and affording luxuries and discretionary items has become more difficult, if not impossible for some, particularly those at the lower ends of the income and wealth spectrums," said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate, in an email.

Syndication Asbury Park Press

Ocean County College hosts a job fair for part-time help.Toms River, NJTuesday, April 5, 2022.

Doug Hood / USA TODAY NETWORK

Social Security checks are up, but still not enough for many seniors

Social Security checks will increase next year thanks to a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of 3.2%, but many seniors say the hikes are falling short as the cost of items older adults spend most of their money on – including healthcare – consistently outpaces COLA.

More than one-quarter of the 1,055 adults surveyed by The Senior Citizens League in the first three months of the year said they had depleted a retirement account over the past 12 months, up from 20% in the second half of last year. A record 45% said they carried credit card debt for more than 90 days even as interest rates soared, the League said. 

Poverty has increased among Americans age 65 and older for three years in a row to 14.1% in 2022 from 10.7% in 2021, according to the latest Census Bureau data. 

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About The Daily Money

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer news from USA TODAY. We break down financial news and provide the TLDR version: how decisions by the Federal Reserve, government and companies impact you.

A study done by Zapier found that one in three Americans currently have a side hustle. That number is expected to grow this year and beyond.

The number of Americans holding multiple jobs has reached its highest level since the pandemic's start. Inflation, remote work may be factors.

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The United States spends more on healthcare than any other developed country - sometimes more than   $400,000   per person over a lifetime for the average American. Of course, certain medical conditions can be much more expensive to treat than others, and the costs of treatment for some common ailments are rising. (   Here are the most common ailments in America.   )   To identify 25 health conditions with soaring medical costs in   America, 24/7 Tempo reviewed the Medical Care Expenditure Index, which measures the growth in cost per case spending using annual data through 2019, from the Health Care Satellite Account - a set of statistics measuring U.S. health care spending produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.     We used the BEA's Blended Account database, which blends together data from multiple sources, including large claims databases that cover millions of enrollees and billions of claims. This dataset was last updated by the BEA on Dec. 6, 2021. Total dollars spent in 2019 and 2009, as well as total episodes of care for each condition in 2019 also came from the BEA.      Click here to see health   conditions with soaring medical costs in America.      Numerous factors influence which ailments are becoming more expensive. In some cases the high cost of advanced pharmaceutical treatments has driven up the total cost of care.   HIV,   for example, is increasingly costly to treat in part because there is no cap on drug prices in the U.S., which means price regulation relies on competition - and   patents   on many newer, more effective HIV drugs prevent other companies from providing lower-cost, generic options.    In the case of cystic fibrosis - which represents the single fastest-rising medical cost in America - advances in treatment have led to longer life spans for those born with   this autosomal recessive disease. This has led to an increase in the prevalence of cystic fibrosis in the adult population, translating to a higher cost of care over a person's lifetime. Cystic fibrosis also happens to top the list of    the most expensive ailments in America   .
 

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FILE - In this June 6, 2019, file photo Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos speaks at the the Amazon re:MARS convention in Las Vegas.  The Amazon founder officially stepped down as CEO on Monday, July 5, 2021, handing over the reins as the company navigates the challenges of a world fighting to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic. Andy Jassy, the head of Amazonâ??s cloud-computing business, replaced Bezos, a change the company had announced in   February.  (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
 

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