The hassle of the side hustle

Weekly Updates

This year, social media will take a larger share of global advertising revenues than will professional content creators. TikTok and its ilk have overtaken television. The rise of the side hustle represents a return to historical norms. Traditionally, many people would have had a portfolio of income streams; earning money from just one job is a largely twentieth century phenomenon.
The rise of the side hustle complicates the modern economy. The TikTok content creator is notably absent from the list of occupations in global employment data. The self-employed content creator has an income stream and thus spending power—but that goes largely unrecognized by today’s statistics. Side hustles mean that data is increasingly underreporting economic reality.
The rise of the side hustle may also shift some economic value creation from large companies to very small (“micro”) companies. While large companies may use accountants and lawyers to avoid taxes, a micro company may not be liable for taxes at all. Shifting economic activity to “businesses” that fall below current tax thresholds may challenge some government revenue streams.
Technology is collapsing barriers to entry in different roles, allowing ordinary individuals to make money in many new ways. Whether the data registers this or not, there will be economic consequences.