ABS: Multiple jobholders in Australia down to 6.5%

The number of multiple job holders in Australia dropped to 961,000 after declining by 12,000 people in the June 2024 quarter, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

This puts the country's multiple job-holding rate at 6.5% in the June quarter, down by 1.2% from the 6.7% recorded in the previous quarter.

"This is the lowest multiple job-holding rate we've seen since the September quarter of 2022," said Kate Lamb, ABS head of labour statistics, in a statement.

"However, 6.5% remains high compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic, when the rate of multiple jobholding was usually between five and six per cent."

According to the ABS, there were 499,900 female multiple jobholders, much higher than the 429,300 male multiple jobholders in June.

Both genders recorded a decline in multiple job-holding rates, but this was more pronounced for men as it declined to 5.7% from six per cent in the March 2024 quarter.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Secondary jobs also down

Meanwhile, Lamb said the drop in multiple jobholders coincided with a 2.9% decline in secondary jobs in the labour market in June 2024.

"This was the largest fall in secondary jobs since the September quarter 2021, when public health measures were introduced in response to the COVID-19 Delta variant," Lamb said.

She noted, however, that the recent fall in secondary jobs follows a period of strong growth during tight labour market conditions, particularly in 2022-23.

"Despite the June quarter drop, the number of secondary jobs was still 25% higher than September quarter 2021. That secondary jobs growth was almost double that of main jobs, which increased 13% over the same period."