Record number of Australians working more than one job to survive

As our economy begins to recover from the pandemic, a record number of Australians are now working multiple jobs, according to a new report released by the ACTU today.

The report, titled Breaking point: The rise of working more than one job, is based on recently released ABS data which revealed 867,900 Australians had picked up a second or even third job, just as key parts of the country started to re-enter lockdowns in June 2021. Of these workers, 55% are under the age of 35, and 53.7% are women.

The report identifies a number of causes of this growing form of insecure work including a lack of hours and employer responses to the pandemic but for many, it comes down to low wages.

While not all workers doing multiple jobs are doing it tough, most are. Multiple jobholders earned $40,500 while all employees earned $49,083 over the same period, a 17.5% pay gap. Astonishingly workers doing multiple jobs are still earning less than most Australians doing just the one job. The picture is worse for women: the median income for women working multiple jobs was estimated at $36,500, while for men it was $46,200.

Australian unions are calling on the Morrison Government to address the issue of insecure work, which will only worsen in the aftermath of the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. ACTU Secretary Sally McManus says Australian workers deserve financial security in one of the most difficult times in history.

“The Morrison Government’s economic ‘recovery’ can’t be at the expense of some of our hardest working, lowest-paid workers having to work multiple jobs,” said McManus.

“An increasingly insecure job market means that workers don’t have predictable, reliable hours of work that means they can plan their lives. Instead, they’re forced to work multiple jobs to pay for basics.

“We need action now to prevent a huge spike in insecure work through the recovery phase of this crisis.

“The recovery from this crisis should be an opportunity to create secure, reliable employment for Australian workers – instead we are seeing a massive increase in insecure work and multiple jobs.”

You can download the full report on the rise of multiple jobs below.

Workers deserve secure work they can count on.

That’s why Australian Unions are campaigning for the Government to restore rights and job security for all workers – before it’s too late.