by Jimmy Flatbush

Created on: February 08, 2010   Last Updated: February 22, 2010

John Steinbeck’s seminal novel, “The Grapes of Wrath,” poignantly depicted the struggles many Americans endured during the Great Depression. Families uprooted and moved thousands of miles in order to find work. While the current economic malaise has not reached such epic proportions, the Great Recession has caused a surge in people looking for ways to earn additional income.

According to the United States Department of Labor, unemployment hovered around ten percent for the month of January. The government’s unemployment figure does not include those who have dropped out of the job search process, or reached their time limit for unemployment compensation. The number of underemployed adds another ten percent to the government’s unemployment number, meaning that one out of five Americans remain out of work.

The Great Recession will be remembered not only for the staggering unemployment figures, buy also the length of the economic downturn. As the Great Recession enters its third year, economic experts predict a double dip in the downturn before long term growth slowly pushes Americans out of the economic doldrums. Cycles are an entrenched fact of economics, so those people who thought the good times would last forever most likely got sucked into the financial bubble. Nonetheless, economic downturns represent opportunity, as growth in new small businesses occurs during economic recessions.

Take heart if you do not possess entrepreneurial spirit. All you need to do is harness your abilities and find the time to earn extra cash without having to invest a second mortgage on education or trade tools. The methods for garnering extra cash include working a second job to finding seasonal or temporary work that you can consistently count on.

Restaurants

Two types of workers dominate the restaurant industry: students and wage earners earning supplemental income. Tipped positions, such as servers and bartenders, offer the best hourly rate. Many companies require some type of experience, but the sage restaurant operator hires on personality and develops service skills. All you need are a few personality traits such as high energy, friendliness, and a veritable enjoyment for serving others.

Tipped employees usually leave each shift with cash in their pockets.

Cyberspace

From EBay and Craig’s List, to developing your own Website, the Internet offers copious opportunities for earning extra cash. Website development may seems daunting, but

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