3 in 5 workers in 7 Asia-Pacific countries have side jobs – poll

MANILA, Philippines — A survey conducted among workers in seven Asia-Pacific countries, including the Philippines, showed that the majority have side jobs to make ends meet.

The 2023 Asia-Pacific Side Job Survey was commissioned by health and wellness company Herbalife and was conducted by market research company OnePoll among 5,500 respondents in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam.

It found that three in every five or 59 percent of the respondents have side jobs. The top reason is to make ends meet (61 percent), followed by dealing with the rising cost of living (44 percent) and being less reliant on a single source of income (43 percent).

Based on the survey, more than half of the respondents or 56 percent said their current financial situation makes it difficult to pay for necessities like food, utilities and medicine.

Some 72 percent said they were equally, if not more, worried about money now than a year ago, while 56 percent said that they have no idea what their financial future looks like.

Among the common side jobs include selling products on e-commerce websites; content creation; writing, editing or proofreading and direct sales or network marketing.

Respondents with side jobs said that on average they need $300 to $700 per month to live comfortably (about P16,500 to P38,500 at P55 per dollar).

The survey also found that Millennials or those born in 1981 to 1996 were most likely to have a side job (63 percent), followed by Gen Zs (59 percent), Gen X (50 percent) and Baby Boomers (45 percent).

Top reasons for Millennials who have side jobs were to deal with rising costs of living (47 percent), to be less reliant on a single source of income (46 percent) and to have a financial safety net (43 percent).

Meanwhile, Gen Zs who have side jobs said they do it to have disposable income (43 percent), to be less reliant on a single source of income (41 percent) and to deal with rising costs of living (40 percent).

On average, those with a side job commit an average of about eight hours per week, with 29 percent saying they dedicate three to five hours a week and 22 percent saying they devote six to 10 hours per week.

“The increased cost of food, housing and natural resources has affected communities globally, causing people to search for supplemental income streams. The direct selling opportunity has existed for more than a century – it provides a way to ease people’s financial situation and, more importantly, a support system to achieve one’s goals,” said Stephen Conchie, Herbalife’s regional president of Asia Pacific and China.