Youth hustle culture not all it's cracked up to be, research finds

Being entrepreneurial by launching a side hustle is championed by government and policy makers as a way for young people to build financial security and improve their career prospects.

But joint research by Deakin University, The University of Melbourne and the University of Leeds in England found most hustles failed to lift youth out of hardship.

Far from helping enterprising go-getters get a leg up in their careers, most hustles were found to require financial backing from steady jobs or family support to get started.

Most hustles also failed to be lucrative, with median weekly earnings sitting at a measly $200, according to the research.

The world-first study was funded by the Australian Research Council and comes at a time when youth around the globe face growing precarity in the labour market.

Research lead Dr David Farrugia of Deakin’s Centre for Research for Educational Impact said entrepreneurship was commonly heralded as a way for young people to create job opportunities.

But the research, which explored the experiences and characteristics of young people with side hustles, concluded most hustlers were unlikely to quit their day jobs any time soon.

In fact, it showed youth who struggle financially are more likely to prioritise getting a job with a steady wage over taking business risks.

'We wanted to find out what side hustles involve, who is pursuing them and how they affect young people's career trajectories and working lives,' Dr Farrugia said.

'Surprisingly, it wasn't young people who are struggling financially who are the most inclined to start a hustle. It's a more privileged cohort who can afford to pursue their career dreams by being entrepreneurial.'

The study surveyed 1497 young side-hustlers aged between 18 and 34 and included interviews with 68 young hustlers about their experiences.

A side hustle was defined as a small-scale entrepreneurial activity undertaken alongside formal employment.

The research team found side hustlers spent on average 11 hours per week on their hustle, which often involved selling goods such as clothing online. Other hustles included creative work, dog walking and trades work.

Passion and enjoyment were the most important reasons young people nominated for pursuing a side-hustle. This was followed by not earning enough money in their current job.

Rideshare and food delivery work were excluded from the research because these workers do not independently coordinate or negotiate the price for the goods or services transacted.

Dr Farrugia said youth entering today's labour market face diminishing advancement opportunities, heightened employment insecurity, low wages and declining returns on education.

While hustlers felt moderate satisfaction about the money they made, with more men (64%) satisfied with their takings than women (54%).

The findings poured cold water on optimism about entrepreneurship as a quick fix for youth unemployment and underemployment.

'The focus should be on strengthening secure, meaningful employment opportunities for young people rather than essentially telling them to go out and work it out for themselves,' Dr Farrugia said.

'Rather than acting as a solution to youth unemployment or underemployment, we found side hustles tend to be more passion projects than money makers.

'Promoting entrepreneurialism risks placing the burden of economic insecurity on the shoulders of individuals to solve rather than policymakers. We should be careful about framing side-hustles as a universal pathway for career development or labour market success.'