As cost of living continues to bite, data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has revealed that a record number of Australians are working two or more jobs.
A record high of 900,000 people in Australia, or 6.5 per cent of all employed people in the country, were working multiple jobs in the June quarter 2022.
“This is the highest rate since the quarterly series commenced in 1994, and about 0.5 percentage points above its pre-pandemic level,” explained Lauren Ford, head of Labour Statistics at the ABS.
“Along with the 4.3 per cent increase in the number of multiple job holders, the number of jobs worked as secondary jobs also increased, by 5.5 per cent, and passed 1 million for the first time. This highlights that some people work more than two jobs at the same time.”
ABS figures indicate that while multiple job holding rose in all industries, the highest rate was observed in the arts and recreational services industry at 8.9 per cent.
This was followed by administrative and support services (8.5 per cent) and agriculture, forestry, and fishing (8.4 per cent.)
The rate was lowest in electricity, gas, water and waste services at 3.5 per cent.
As per ABS data from the June quarter, the number of filled jobs also reached a record high of just under 15 million.
Ms Ford elaborated, “The high number of both filled jobs and vacant jobs reflects the continued strong demand for workers across the economy, coupled with widespread labour shortages.
“The increase in secondary jobs and hours worked since early in the pandemic has coincided with a large fall in the number of part-time and full-time workers who would like to work more hours, with underemployment now at historical lows.”
Rising costs continue to top the list of concerns for most Australians with the inflation rate currently standing at 6.1 per cent.
Last week, in another bid to tackle this, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) lifted its benchmark interest rate for the fifth month in a row to 2.35 per cent. Prior to this year, the RBA’s last interest rate hike was in 2010.
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