Underground Economy: Work Under The Table
A door person works at a second job in the local pub on the weekend for cash under the table, a plumber fixes a leak in a home off of the books, a cab driver works some hours off of the books, a bartender declares only as many tips as she has to. All of these are examples of an underground economy of legitimate, traditional jobs. The underground economy as a whole however also quantifies the illegitimate, black market activities as well, such as the drug trade and other illegal contraband. It is estimated that the size of the so-called underground economy in the USA is anywhere from 13-15% in developed nations such as USA, Europe etc., and as high as 21-30% in developing nations, according to the IMF.
There are various motivating factors for someone to work “off of the books” or “under the table”, such as tax evasion/tax avoidance, collecting government benefits while working, rising income taxes etc. But it is likely that the sole motivation is by working poor trying to keep up with the rising cost of living in an economy where prices of everything keep climbing while wages remain stagnant. In the end it is government bureaucracy and legislation acting in collusion with the burgeoning power of unbridled corporate greed that fuels most of the economic woes of workers in the first place. Many workers, quite justifiably so, become indignant when they see legislators creating massive loopholes for big corporations while tightening the legislative noose around the activities of the working poor.
The types of jobs that one could hold which are most likely to pay cash under the table are varied and all over the map and appeal to a broad skillset. And contrary to what most people think, they are not all unskilled or manual lab our types of employment.
Earn Cash: 10 Jobs That Pay Under The Table
- Earn cash tutoring college students. One of the easiest ways for a college or university grad to earn straight cash is to work as a tutor. Some skills that are in very high demand for this could involve tutoring math courses, physics, English literature, history, or languages such as french or Spanish. You could also offer to teach English to new immigrants off the books.
- Work as a proofreader. I knew someone when I was in university who had graduated years before who supported themselves, under the table, by proofreading essays and term papers for students and charged by the page.
- Make a second income delivering lifestyle services to people’s homes. I have met dozens of women who made ends meet by offering professional salon quality hairstyling - in peoples homes, well below market cost of the typical salon price. The same applies to similar work: manicures, pedicures, massage therapy, aromatherapy, yoga classes, reflexology, reiki, alternative medicine/naturopathy, the list goes on.
- Work for cash in the food and beverage industry. Without a doubt, one of the biggest underground employers is the food industry. Coffee shops, bars, pubs, taverns, restaurants etc have employed many people I have known over the years - many of which have also lived below the radar of immigration services for many years. It is also one of the easiest ways to finance living abroad if you have skills as a cook, bartender or doorperson and want to escape and start a new life abroad.
- Offer traditional building trades for cash. This “no-brainer”, like the food and beverage is one of the two most obvious examples of an underground employer. Offering anything from complete major renovations to small carpentry jobs, welding jobs, plumbing repairs. If one is a skilled carpenter with their own facilities, one could even build custom lawn furniture, wooden retro screen doors, stairs - right down to something obscure like custom birdhouses, some of which can fetch over a hundred dollars. The construction industry is a huge consumer of undocumented workers.
- Earn profit from your craft skills. Selling anything from homemade soap and paper products, to quilting, sewing, ceramics, pottery, jewelry, screen printed clothing, homemade rugs. I know of a guy who, when he came to Canada, made homemade sandals out of old tires which resembled those popular rubber “crock” style shoes. This same guy used that money to fund a legitimate food business, which he still operates today!
- Teach music lessons. Offer guitar lessons in people’s homes. Or piano lessons in yours. The possibilities here are endless.
- Offer services for elderly consumers. Yard work, snow and roof shoveling are very popular and obvious choices here. So are any other rubbish removal, spring cleaning services.
- Make a second income growing vegetables in people’s backyards. Got a green thumb? Offer to grow vegetables for people for a low cost, setting them up with a starter home garden which you get paid cash to maintain. Sure, a reasonable rate might only be 20-30 dollars a month, but add this up if you did this for 100 people!
- Offer computer repairs. Computer savvy? This could be another perfect way to provide a service for people off of the books.
These ideas represent just some of the ways that someone could earn a living in another country and work to pay their way through life. Oddly enough, some of these ideas might represent the only meaningful access to capital whereby an individual can raise the money to start up their own business, legitimately, ultimately creating employment for others. Which illustrates, that this whole issue of undocumented work is not necessarily the moral “black and white” issue it is made out to be.
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