In April, the unemployment rate rose by more than 10%, with at least 26 million Americans out of work due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
With more time spent at home to stop the spread of the virus, many people are turning to side hustles as a way to make more money in trying times.
Curious how you can earn some cash? Here are some areas where you can find lucrative work that you can do from home, according to experts from freelancer platforms Fiverr and Upwork.
These companies examined their database to see trends and popular gigs that are getting traction while people stay home amid Covid-19. Some of these jobs require special skills or expertise, while others can be done remotely with just a computer and internet connection.
When considering a side hustle, “think about your competitive strategy,” Nancy Van Brunt, director of freelancer and agency success at Upwork, tells CNBC Make It. In other words: What skills do you already have that could be marketable? “Really think about your services as a business,” she says.
Blogging, building websites and social media
As more businesses transition online, they’re looking to hire people who know how to build an online presence for a brand, a representative for Fiverr tells CNBC Make It.
The side hustles
There are lots of ways you can do this, for example, you can earn anywhere from $75 to $1,045 writing an online article, or $135 to $995 optimizing existing content for SEO, according to Fiverr, which looked at a sampling of what users are earning now in their more than 300 categories.
(Pricing depends how long the project will take to complete and level of expertise, and both Fiverr and Upwork take a percentage of earnings.)
Building a website, which entails writing code for WordPress, can earn you $395 to $4,095, according to Fiverr.
Video editors can charge between $100 and $3,200 to edit everything from social media videos to event footage.
And managing social media accounts for a brand, which includes strategizing, writing and creating posts for platforms like Twitter and YouTube, can earn you $25 an hour on average, according to Upwork.
App development and product testing
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a 50% increase in registration volume across many categories on Upwork, including technology-related jobs, according to data from the end of March and April. Specifically, there’s a demand for web, mobile and software development, says Upwork’s Van Brunt.
The side hustles
Mobile app development is one of the highest-paying side hustles on Fiverr, with projects costing between $300 and $3,000, but this requires knowledge of software engineering and coding.
Graphic designers who focus on UI, or user interface (which basically means designing the way users interact with a product like an app or website via the buttons they click or the text entry fields that use, etc.), can earn $185 to $6,300 on app projects.
Quality assurance testing, which is essentially testing that a piece of software or an application does what it says, can earn you $36 an hour on average, per ZipRecruiter. (QA testers typically have a computer science background and knowledge of testing software like Selenium.)
Teaching whatever you’re good at
More consumers are looking for productive ways to spend their time in lockdown, according to Fiverr. If you have internet connection and a computer, you can earn money teaching a variety of skills you already have.
The side hustles
Fiverr introduced new service categories between March 20 and April 3 to cater to people stuck at home during the pandemic, such as crafting, cooking, music, language and fitness lessons. People charge from $5 a class to $100 depending upon how involved the lesson is, and their own experience.
For example, home chefs sell recipes and remote cooking tutorials starting at $5, and as high as $100.
Personal trainers offer virtual training sessions or classes from $15 to $75.
Covid-19-specific projects
While the pandemic crisis has put many people out of work, clients and freelancers on Upwork are seeing a demand for projects that are specifically related to Covid-19, according to Van Brunt. “There’s opportunity to really make an impact by helping companies looking for help on these immediate and urgent needs,” she says.
The side hustles
Van Brunt has seen job listings on Upwork for graphic designers who can create new signage for hospitals, software developers who can build apps that track Covid-19 cases, for example.
Graphic design projects like this — creating displays, logos or marketing materials — can sell for $100 to $3,000 on Fiverr.
To find work that relates to Covid-19, Upwork has added a “Covid-19 Job Feed” for users who are registered with the site and looking for Covid-19 jobs. You may also want to search for keywords like, “healthcare industry” or “online educational services,” according to Upwork.
Check out: The best credit cards of 2020 could earn you over $1,000 in 5 years
Don’t miss: