Older workers chased one steady job for life. Gen Z is doing the opposite.
They are stacking two, three, even four roles at once. And a new study from the workforce firm Deputy shows they are not all broke.
The Deputy study found multiple jobs are more common than they have been in over ten years. Gen Z is leading the way.
Young workers make up 55% of all multi-job workers. That is more than every other generation combined.
The study tracked more than 41 million shifts and 268 million hours. So this is not a few side-hustlers.
It is a real shift in how a whole generation works.
The trend has been climbing since 2020. It hit an all-time high last fall, and it has not slowed down.
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The easy story is that young people need extra cash. That is part of it, with rent and prices high.
But the data shows more. Many choose several jobs on purpose, for the freedom to set their own schedule.
This differs from holding several full-time jobs at once. That quieter trend keeps people chained to a desk for more pay.
Deputy's CEO put it simply. Gen Z watched their parents stay loyal to one boss, then get burned.
So they would rather spread their bets. A paycheck becomes a portfolio of gigs, where no single boss controls it all.
AI is quietly shaping how this works. It helps juggle the schedules that make multiple jobs possible.
Nearly 75% of shift workers say AI tools help them clock out on time. That frees up the hours a second or third job needs.
The workers who lean on those tools tend to do best. Those who fear AI worry it could automate the very gigs they rely on.
There is a harder edge here too. The jobless rate for recent college grads has climbed above the rate for all workers.
Squeezed out of normal roles, many pieced together their own income, one shift at a time. Job-hopping became one fix, and stacking gigs became another.
For some it is a free choice, and for others it is the only door open. Either way, it says as much about the job market as about Gen Z.
A worker with several paychecks is a different customer, saver, and investor. The firms that schedule and pay them are watching closely.
Banks, lenders, and gig apps all feel this shift. A multi-job worker saves and borrows in new ways.
The 9-to-5 is not dead. But it is no longer the only plan.
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