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Workers Share Most Unique Ways They're Supplementing Incomes in New CareerBuilder Survey

CHICAGO - July 15, 2009 - In an economy where household budgets are getting tighter, workers are looking for different ways to supplement their incomes. One-in-ten workers reported they have taken on a second job in the last year to help make ends meet.* In a recent survey completed in June, CareerBuilder asked more than 4,400 workers to share some of the more unconventional ways they’ve earned extra dollars.


Examples cited by respondents include:

  • Used a portable propane burner to heat oil, and sold catfish dinners on his front porch

  • Made Star Wars costumes for people

  • Donated blood plasma

  • Researched stories for a gossip columnist

  • Won money on a game show

  • Juggled chainsaws in a talent competition

  • Posed for an art class

  • Worked as a tarot card reader

  • Wrote a freelance article on Big Foot

  • Took notes in class for college students

  • Took items from the Lost & Found and sold them online

  • Gave people in the office hair cuts

  • Tested recipes for a book

  • Worked as a movie extra

  • Participated in product testing for bandages

  • Played in Poker tournaments

  • Participated in university research studies


    • *Stat from CareerBuilder’s Q2 2009 Job Forecast

    Survey Methodology
    This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder among 4,478 U.S. workers (employed full-time; not self-employed; non government); ages 18 and over between May 22nd and June 10th, 2009 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset of U.S. employees, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 4,478, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.46 percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

    About CareerBuilder
    CareerBuilder is the global leader in human capital solutions, helping companies target and attract their most important asset – their people. Its online career site, CareerBuilder.com, is the largest in the U.S. with more than 23 million unique visitors, 1 million jobs and 32 million resumes. CareerBuilder works with the world’s top employers, providing resources for everything from employment branding and data analysis to talent acquisition. More than 9,000 Web sites, including 140 newspapers and broadband portals such as MSN and AOL, feature CareerBuilder’s proprietary job search technology on their career sites. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company, The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com

    CareerBuilder Media Contact
    For all media inquiries and interview requests, contact:

    Jennifer Grasz
    (P) 773-527-1164
    (E) jennifer.grasz@careerbuilder.com