Four in 10 hourly workers say that living paycheck to paycheck would be an upgrade from their current financial situation, according to a new study.
The survey of 2,000 American workers who get paid on an hourly basis, with a quota for 1,000 Gen Z workers and 1,000 retail workers, found that 39% would see living from paycheck to paycheck as an improvement in their finances.
Digging into hourly workers’ dire financial circumstances, almost half (44%) have overdrafted their bank accounts in the last month.
Thirty-eight percent currently have less than $1,000 in their bank accounts, and a fifth (19%) have taken out a loan in the last year to make ends meet financially.
Commissioned by DailyPay and conducted by Talker Research, the study examined hourly workers’ financial well-being, the lengths they’ve gone to stay afloat financially in the last year, and how challenging times have negatively affected their mental health.
The results revealed that more than a third of hourly workers (34%) rely on more than one job to get by.
Yet, long hours and side hustles haven’t solved employees’ problems. Many have had to resort to extreme measures to make enough money.
One respondent shared, “I recently sold my shoes and my PS5 to create an extra source of income,” while another admitted, “I have gone dumpster diving looking for things to sell.”
To save money in between paychecks, many (38%) have canceled various subscriptions, while nearly a third (31%) said they’ve had to refrain from buying literally anything at all while waiting for their next paycheck.
Seeing how all this has affected workers’ wellbeing, one person said, “My mental health is worse than it has ever been, and as a result, my physical health is also declining rapidly.”
Another shared, “Financial struggles have affected not only my well-being but also the relationships around me. It’s difficult to maintain a social life when you don’t have any money.”
It’s no surprise that half (50%) feel their financial health is out of their control.
Nearly one in three (32%) have had difficulty paying their bills on time in the last year, and 29% have received a “past due” notice about a bill.
Another quarter (28%) have had to borrow money from friends and rely on financial support from family to simply get by.
“For workers living paycheck to paycheck, many of whom are hourly employees, being paid weekly or even daily is preferable to other types of pay,” said Cary Carbonaro, certified financial planner and author of “Women and Wealth.” “For many hourly workers, their top priority is simply meeting their short-term needs, like buying groceries and paying rent, which is where on-demand pay can help.”
One in two hourly workers (50%) have limited access to their wages in between pay periods.
Seeing how on-demand pay could change their financial health, for those who don’t already have it, most hourly workers (78%) feel that on-demand pay would improve their finances.
Forty percent of those who say on-demand pay would allow them to pay for day-to-day necessities when they actually need them, 31% feel it would make them more financially secure overall, and 30% believe it would help them enjoy their lives more in general.
For those who do already have access to their wages on-demand, it’s helped them afford things like groceries and toiletries (22%), pay their bills on time (20%), and lower their financial stress (15%).
Survey methodology:
Talker Research surveyed 1,000 retail workers (of any age) on an hourly salary and 1,000 Gen Z workers on an hourly salary from any sector of work; the survey was commissioned by DailyPay and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between May 13 and May 21, 2025.
