Any young adult is well acquainted with the dreaded question from an intrusive aunt or grandparent: What do you do for a living? These days, the answer to said question often resembles a list like the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker—although the 21st-century version might have a dog walker who also serves as a nanny and drives for Uber—a brand that’s after all become a gig-economy shorthand.
Study after study this year has found that more Gen Zers and millennials, faced with high economic uncertainty and financial anxiety, have been picking up extra gigs in order to make ends meet. A new analysis from Bank of America adds weight to the narrative, but finds that these side hustles aren’t really cutting it.
