What to know
- A growing number of Torontonians are working multiple jobs or side hustles as rising housing and grocery costs outpace wages, with 1.1 million Canadians holding more than one job in 2023, according to Statistics Canada.
- Workers say second and even third sources of income are no longer optional but necessary to survive, as economic instability and high living costs make relying on a single paycheck feel increasingly risky.
- Experts note that side hustles, which can be built gradually and often in parallel with full-time work, are becoming a popular and lower-risk way for people to supplement income and cope with Toronto’s high cost of living.
More people in Toronto appear to be working multiple jobs at once.
In 2023, StatsCanada reported 5.6 per cent of the population, or 1.1 million people, were working multiple jobs.
As housing and grocery prices rise in Toronto, some residents in the city say they’re working these jobs because they’re really starting to feel the pinch.
Many have turned to second and third sources of income to be able to keep up with costs.
Viktoriia Karpova works two jobs on top of her main occupation. She told Now Toronto it’s something she has to do to survive.
“I need money to live,” Karpova said. “My salary is not enough to take care of my essentials.”
Karpova said she has been running an Etsy shop on the side, as well as working in automation for the past six months, both on top of working her main job as an executive assistant.
“Things are getting worse, the prices are getting up [there],” she added.
Roxanna Bernal works a second job where she trains Artificial Intelligence. She said she also had to work the job on top of her nine to five in order to make ends meet.
“I also work as an independent contractor. I’m an interpreter,” she said. “But sometimes when work is slow, you have to find ways to sustain yourself.”
Reni Odetoyinbo, a content creator and financial educator by the name Reni, the Resource, said she’s noticed the shift in Torontonians working multiple jobs.
“In the past year or so, which correlates with the economy going down a bit, I’ve seen a lot of people who have reached out to me, especially for one-on-one coaching and one of the main questions they ask is ‘how can I get a side hustle? Can you give me examples of side hustles I can check out,’” Odetoyinbo said.
She said that the reason so many people are looking into working more than one job is because of how expensive it is to live in Toronto.
“Cost of living is outpacing the wages that we currently have and I think that’s the core issue that leads to people having more than one or needing to have more than one job,” Odetoyinbo said.
“Because we live in a big city, we also see big layoffs. We see that the economy feels a bit unstable right now, so just having one source of income feels extremely risky for people when you have such a high cost of living.”
Dr. Sean Wise, a professor of entrepreneurship at Toronto Metropolitan University, said side hustles and second jobs aren’t usually the same thing and that having a side hustle is the less risky choice of the two options.
“Multiple jobs have you as an employee in both positions, show up at this time at this office for this many hours,” Wise said. “It’s very difficult to be an accountant while making pizzas at a restaurant. However, side hustles can often be done in parallel. In fact, that’s the whole idea that you can try before you buy, before quitting your job and putting your family at risk. You can start small, you can try it out and often that means before you quit your source of income.”
Wise also adds that he believes the growth of side hustles and extra jobs are due to a disdain for traditional employment as well as a link to channeling your creativity or passion into a low-risk option that could give you extra cash in your pocket.
“Side hustles allow you to start small and scale gradually, once you’ve proven it, once you know that this can pay your mortgage, can feed your family, then you can make the transition,” he said. “The high cost of living does contribute to some of the need for these side hustles but it doesn’t change the fact that side hustles allow you to start small, focus on your passion and grow as demand warrants it.”
How can I get started?
Odetoyinbo suggests anyone interested in beginning a side business or job to go for it.
“I would say that the good thing about Toronto is there are lots of opportunities,” she said. “If you do need a side job or anything, there are more opportunities than a smaller city.”
She said it’s best if the person interested explores something in their best interest.
“Some people can drive for hours doing Uber as a side hustle, whereas for other people, that just wouldn’t work with their schedule.”
Odetoyinbo said if you’re wanting to start off, to stick to what you know.
“If you have writing skills, if you have admin skills, if you have social media skills, design skills, if you are skilled at tutoring and teaching people, those are all great ways to start off,” she said.
She also added it’s important to track the money coming in.
“I think it’s important to also track your income and your expenses from day one, so we can actually see that this is a viable and profitable side hustle, not just something that we’re doing that seems like it’s making money, but it’s not actually making money,” Odetoyinbo said.
She finally added that those beginning a side hustle should be open-minded and to not feel bad for taking on the extra income.
“I think a lot of people sometimes feel shame around having to get a second job or a side hustle but there’s no need to feel any shame, especially in a high-cost of living city like Toronto,” she said. “It’s just the norm for most of us. So, keep your options open, be willing to try new things and have no shame around it as well.”
