Reflections of Living ‘Hand-to-Mouth’ among ‘Hustlers’ During COVID-19: Insights on the Realities of Poverty in Jamaica

Abstract

This chapter reviews the theme of augmented precarity during the COVID-19 pandemic. It examines ‘hustling’ in Jamaica, which is a common practice of marginalized populations to capitalize on opportunities to earn an income in extreme economic landscapes. It further explains that hustling in Jamaica is a mobile, iterant, and unregulated activity that often involves street vending or picking up side jobs. It also considers effects of the first wave of the pandemic on hustling activities due to government lockdown measures in Jamaica. The chapter focuses on the informal labor market in relation to the ‘right to the city’ in the urban Global South. It questions traditional approaches to assessing poverty and proposes an alternative approach that captures a realistic insight surrounding the precarity of hustling and risks to poverty.