As the cost-of-living rises, and wages are at a standstill, more and more people are taking up a side hustle, with the latest ABS data showing that in the March quarter, 857,000 Australians held more than one job, up from 674,000 five years ago.
Glenmore Park local Peter Scibberas is just one of thousands of people who has been able to turn his existing skills into extra money through services like Airtasker.
A horticulturalist by trade, Mr Scibberas spends his days managing the installation and upkeep of plants in commercial locations including pubs, clubs, restaurants, and office spaces.
“I love it, it’s good. You get to go into a lot of nice buildings as well, which is a nice bonus!” he said.
When he first came across Airtasker earlier this year, an upcoming holiday inspired him to use his gardening skills and love of the outdoors to boost his savings.
“I had a friend that used to do it, so he was explaining it to me, and I thought I might just give that a go,” he said.
“I love working outdoors, I spend so much time in my own area, at my own house, and it just so happens that we’re going overseas for six weeks next week, so I decided I would just do as much work as I can and bank it, don’t touch it.”
Mr Scibberas has now been doing gardening tasks on Airtasker since January.
Many of his jobs involve him helping to maintain or fix gardens for people who don’t have the time, skills, or equipment to do it themselves.
“I do a lot of work helping elderly people as well, people who don’t have a lawnmower, or they’re not able to mow their grass,” he said.
“So that’s satisfying, when you do a good job for them. That’s the best part of the job actually.”
With around 100,000 Australians having more than two jobs, Mr Scibberas isn’t shocked to hear how many people are taking advantage of their skills to increase their earnings.
“It’s not just on Airtasker,” he said.
“I think in a lot of industries, depending on what work you do, a lot of people will use their knowledge to do a little side hustle. I’m just lucky that I’m able to do stuff like that!”
But, with the flexibility and consistency that Airtasker offers, Mr Scibberas wouldn’t have it any other way, and his bank account agrees.
“If you do the jobs and spend it, it doesn’t give you any motivation to go and do more,” he said.
“But, when you do the jobs and you see your bank account building, it does give you that motivation to do more.”
Cassidy Pearce is a news and entertainment journalist with The Western Weekender. A graduate of the University of Technology Sydney, she has previously worked with Good Morning Macarthur and joined the Weekender in 2022.
