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Summary.
A staggering 55 million people — more than 35% of the U.S. workforce — are now freelancers or contractors, and that number is projected to rise to 43% by 2020. About 44 million people report having some kind of side hustle, and of those who do, 36% say they earn more than $500 a month from it. Entrepreneurship, even in the form of part-time work to complement a traditional day job, can provide a useful hedge against economic uncertainty and a way to develop new skills.