More than a third of the American workforce did at least some work on the side this year as the Covid-19 pandemic decimated jobs and wages. That translates to 59 million people, or two million more than in 2019, according to the Freelance Forward report released on Tuesday by Upwork, a firm that helps businesses find labour. “There is this really long tail of people who participate a couple of times a month and even beyond that, a couple times a year,” said Upwork economist Adam Ozimek. The study found that freelancers contributed $1.2 trillion to the US economy this year in annual earnings — a 22 per cent increase over 2019. Upwork Chief Executive Officer Hayden Brown said the move toward more remote work likely will accelerate the trend.