“A government job used to be as stable as it gets. Now it is the opposite, and federal workers are turning to side hustles to stay afloat.
Some of them picked up gig work earlier this year as the Trump administration moved to slim the federal workforce with widespread job cuts and buyouts.
With hundreds of thousands now on furlough and the White House initiating new, mass layoffs on Friday, others are signing up to work for online platforms or leaning into existing side jobs to fortify their household income.
One Washington, D.C., user on Rover.com wrote in her profile that she is furloughed and can "take care of your pet while the government is shut down." Another furloughed worker answered the phone last week asking to call back later -- she was in the middle of driving for Lyft. An Energy Department employee who left through the deferred-resignation offer has been picking up shifts at the front desk of a gym in exchange for discounted membership fees.
Sharon Perrone, a scientist in the Agriculture Department, has had four different side gigs since taking the deferred-resignation offer in April. She picked up more shifts at local farmers markets, where she already sold cheese on weekends. The 36-year-old also sold merchandise at concerts, helped with a handbook on Alaskan farming and started doing graphic design, largely for other federal workers starting their own businesses.
In all, she saved about $4,000 extra from the side gigs by the time she came off the government payroll at the end of September. "I got to use all different parts of my brain," said Perrone, who started a full-time job that utilizes her Ph.D. in soil science last week.
Brooke Hardison, a USDA worker on furlough, has worked weekends and other days off as a travel agent since 2022, specializing in planning trips for disabled clients. Before the shutdown, the 47-year-old reinvested her earnings from those bookings into the work, including for the purchase of a new camera to improve her YouTube videos offering travel tips.
Now those earnings go directly into her savings account. Hardison, on a recent day when she was furloughed, said she has been spending her days working on trips or editing and posting a backlog of videos, whose ads also bring in some money. Those videos, she hopes, will also bring in new clients.
"There's a lot of anxiety about employment right now," said Hardison, who lives in a Maryland suburb and has cut spending on nonessentials. "The Amazon guy has not been to my house in quite a few days. I imagine he's going to knock on my door and ask me if I'm OK."
More than 3% of employed Americans worked for online platforms such as Uber Technologies or DoorDash [1] in 2022, up from below 1% in 2017, according to an analysis of federal tax data from economists including University of Chicago Prof. Dmitri Koustas. During Covid-19, government workers were among those least likely to take on these side gigs, the analysis found.
That might be changing now that many furloughed employees have time on their hands and are worried about back pay. The Trump administration has asserted that some federal workers might not be guaranteed back pay, which is required by law. Republican congressional leaders have said the workers will be owed back pay.
"It's a rational response, not just for government workers but for anybody facing instability, to look for short-term sources of income," Koustas said.
Gu Bo signed up to walk dogs and feed cats on Rover the day after she was laid off from her job at Voice of America in March. She nets about $50 on good days from the platform. "There's no way I could rely on that income to survive," she said.
Still, "it's great because it forces me to go out and walk and socialize," said Bo, who recently found a new full-time job.
Many federal workers have been through enough shutdowns that they get stressed only when they start missing pay, said John Kostelnik, the California-based regional vice president of the Council of Prison Locals, which represents federal prison workers.
Until then, "they haven't gone yet for secondary employment. They're exploring what their options are," Kostelnik said.
The first hit to federal workers' pay came Friday, when some agencies paid employees for work through when the shutdown began on Oct. 1 -- a few days short of a full paycheck. Should the shutdown continue, federal workers would miss their next full paychecks. Some credit unions are offering interest-free loans to help bridge the gap. Several utility companies are also waiving late fees.
During the 2018-19 shutdown, Kostelnik took an unexpected gig. He was invited onstage at the "Jimmy Kimmel Live" show. Kimmel had pledged to "put a federal employee to work" and shook Kostelnik's hand as the cameras rolled. Kostelnik took his place with the band, and got paid for playing the tambourine for the hourlong set.
"A lot of us do live paycheck to paycheck," he said.
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Not All Gigs Pass
Ethics Rules
Federal workers are usually supposed to get approval for any outside work, typically from their agency's ethics office, said Kristin Alden, an employment lawyer who represents federal workers. Outside work that doesn't conflict with a worker's job, such as running a nonprofit or selling real estate, is often approved.
The Office of Personnel Management said in September that employees furloughed in a shutdown are still subject to restrictions on outside employment.
A 2023 Department of Homeland Security memo gives a flavor of what can be allowed during a shutdown without prior approval. For many staffers, that included earning money from platforms such as Uber, Lyft, TaskRabbit and DoorDash, as well as event-support services such as wedding planning and catering. Also exempt: performing music, hairstyling, waitressing, personal training, pet-sitting and substitute teaching.” [2]
1. The DoorDash app is a mobile application for ordering food, groceries, and other items from local and national businesses for either delivery or pickup. It allows users to place orders, track deliveries in real-time, and pay using various methods like credit cards, PayPal, or Apple Pay. The app also includes a subscription service called DashPass, which offers benefits like $0 delivery fees at participating merchants.
For consumers
Ordering: Browse local restaurants, grocery stores, and other merchants to order food and more.
Delivery options: Choose between "no-contact delivery" where the Dasher leaves the order at your door, or "hand it to me" delivery.
Pickup: Place an order ahead of time and pick it up yourself.
Tracking: Track your order in real-time and see your Dasher's location and estimated arrival time.
Payment: Pay with a credit or debit card, Google Pay, Apple Pay, PayPal, or Afterpay.
DashPass subscription: Get benefits like free delivery and lower service fees on eligible orders.
For delivery drivers (Dashers)
Dasher app: A separate app for drivers to manage deliveries.
Order management: Accept and manage deliveries, communicate with customers, and track earnings.
New features: The driver app has a simplified layout for easier navigation, with core action buttons like "Dash Now" being more accessible.
Promotions: Find and track promotions and incentives in the new "Promotions" tab.
2. U.S. News: Furloughed Federal Workers Are Turning to Side Hustles. Ensign, Rachel Louise; Ellis, Lindsay. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 14 Oct 2025: A3.
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