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Seasonal workers are relying on temporary work to make ends meet this holiday season, according to new research.
A new survey of 1,000 Americans with seasonal jobs revealed that seasonal workers are looking to earn an average of 38% more money for their expenses compared to last. Last year’s survey revealed the average respondent needed to earn $6,209 during the holidays — this year, that’s up to $8,585.
In 2025, only 60% said they needed their seasonal income to cover their bills. This year, 73% are relying on this income during the holiday season.
The increase comes despite more than half of respondents (55%) believing they’re in a better financial place now than they were at this time last year.
The survey commissioned by mobile banking app Current and conducted by Talker Research also examined how the seasonal work landscape itself is shifting.
“Seasonal work is no longer just a little extra money. It has become essential to helping millions of Americans make ends meet,” said Erin Bruehl, vice president of communications at Current. “We’re seeing more seasonal workers than ever depend on these paychecks just to keep up with bills in their daily lives and close an even bigger financial gap. This suggests that the pressure on seasonal workers is intensifying even as broader financial sentiment improves.”
It appears to be getting more competitive. Among respondents who have worked seasonal jobs before, 35% said more people seem to be applying this year, 30% said there’s more competition for available jobs and 30% said there are simply fewer jobs to go around.
For those still searching, time is tight: 62% of respondents said if they don’t have a seasonal job lined up by October, it’s “too late” to get one.
There are trade-offs that come with seasonal work, too. Seventy-two percent of seasonal workers surveyed said they “miss out” on the holidays because of their jobs, and 44% of those respondents said they feel it deeply.
Having a seasonal job means many can’t celebrate the holidays with loved ones (29%) or feel as much joy during the season (29%). Others have had to decline holiday travel (26%) or get less time with family (26%) because of work.
Even so, most seasonal workers say the trade-off is worth it (72%) or at least necessary (22%).
That may be part of why 72% of respondents say they’re “dreading” the holiday season this year — another increase from last year: up from 61% who previously said the same.
“Seasonal workers are the backbone that keep the country going throughout one of the busiest times of the year, yet too many of them are stretched thinner than ever just to make it through the season, which most cannot even truly enjoy,” Bruehl said. “They also deserve and need access to financial solutions that can help meet them where they are with tools to get them their hard-earned money faster, avoid unnecessary fees and make every paycheck go even further.”
Research methodology:
Talker Research surveyed 1,000 seasonal workers (with quotas set to match the generational breakdown in 2025’s survey) who have access to the internet; the survey was commissioned by Current and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Sept. 1–14, 2026.
