As I was scrolling through Twitter, anxiously awaiting this morning’s Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report to hit – you know, the unemployment data that sends the market into a frenzy every month – I noticed my newsfeed trying to tell me something…
My screen was flooded with promotions of the “best side hustle,” “side hustle coaches,” – whatever that means – and oddly inspirational messages about the benefits of a side hustle:
I’m already participating in the best side hustle that exists: trading.
But what about the rest of America?
This morning’s jobs report beat expectations with 311,000 new jobs added last month and revealed that a striking 62.5% of the population is either working or looking for work.
The labor market is on fire right now.
And according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), over 7.5 million workers in the U.S. held two or more positions as of January.
So, I turned to our social media database to see just how many feeds look like mine… And found that the chatter around side hustles is in fact growing at an impressive clip:
The chart above displays mentions of consumers generically talking about a “side hustle,” “side gig,” or “side job,” and shows that mentions are up 49% from last year.
Naturally, the trader in me wanted to know who could be winning with the massive adoption of side hustles – and I uncovered two promising investment opportunities that you’ll want to see…
Two Companies That Have Me Bullish on Side Hustles
If you’re looking for a side hustle, Upwork (UPWK) is a fantastic place to start.
It’s a popular online marketplace for freelancers looking to find work and companies looking to find talent. It also offers solutions for just about anything you might need for your business, from customer support to HR to design, you name it.
A deeper dive into our database shows Upwork is showcasing extraordinary demand growth right now:
Consumer Purchase Intent (PI) Mentions for the company, which measure social media posts indicating consumers spent real money, have increased 71% since last year – and 21% this quarter alone.
But Upwork isn’t the only freelancer-focused company we’ve got eyes on…
Upwork competitor Fiverr (FVRR) provides a similar service as a kind of “side hustle” one-stop shop, and its Purchase Intent chart reveals similar demand growth:
We believe FVRR was a majorly oversold tech player delivering high value – and so far, its stock is up about 20% year-to-date (YTD).
If we dig deeper, we can see that global website traffic is increasing for both freelance marketplaces.
The chart below shows an increase in visitors to each platform:
While FVRR has more overall traffic to its website, UPWK is gaining comparative momentum with a 13% year-over-year (YoY) increase.
Bottom line: Side hustles are becoming more and more common, and the companies that provide marketplaces for people trying to make some extra spending money stand to benefit in the long run.
Until next time,
Andy Swan
Co-Founder