Many Middle-Class Indonesians Take on Side Hustles to Make Ends Meet

According to a survey by the Katadata Insight Center (KIC), 46% of Indonesian middle-class respondents have a side job in addition to their main employment.

The majority do so not out of interest or passion, but due to economic pressures.

(Read: Pengeluaran Kelas Menengah RI Umumnya Rp2 Jutaan Sebulan)

70.6% of respondents work a side job to increase their income for living expenses, 42.2% to increase savings, and 30.7% to achieve financial goals.

Only 28% work a side job to develop their interests, talents, or passions.

"This reflects that additional/side jobs have become a primary strategy—perhaps even a necessity—for the middle class to survive and improve their well-being amidst challenging economic conditions," wrote KIC in its report.

Some also do so to fill their free time, build business networks or relationships, reduce dependence on their main job, and for several other reasons as shown in the graph.

The KIC survey involved 472 middle-class respondents aged 17–59 years, narrowed down to 218 respondents with side jobs.

Respondents were spread across 10 major Indonesian cities: Bandung, Medan, Surabaya, Jayapura, Jakarta, Semarang, Banjarmasin, Yogyakarta, Denpasar, and Makassar.

Data collection was conducted online from January 6–9, 2025, using a non-probability sampling method, with a margin of error of 4.6%.

Note that the survey questions used multiple-answer options, allowing respondents to select more than one answer.

The complete KIC survey report, titled "Indonesia's Middle Class Amidst Economic Uncertainty," can be accessed via this link.

(Baca: Survei KIC: Mayoritas Gaji Kelas Menengah Habis untuk Kebutuhan Pokok)