The proportion of employed people in Australia working more than one job increased to 6.5% in the quarter ended June 30, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released this week. This was 0.6 percentage point above the start of the pandemic and the highest since the series started in 1994.

“The multiple job holding rate of 6.5% in the June quarter was the highest seen across the 27-year series, and continued the rebound from the record low of 4.9% in the June quarter of 2020,” said Bjorn Jarvis, head of Labour Statistics at the ABS.

Industries with the largest increases in the multiple job holding rate were “administrative and support services,” “arts and recreation services,” and “education and training.” The ABS also noted that across all industries, the rate of multiple job holding was higher than pre-pandemic levels.

“However, analysis of both Labour Force Survey and Labour Account statistics suggests that while there are more multiple job holders, the average hours they work in their secondary jobs has decreased over the Covid period,” Jarvis said. “Average hours worked by multiple job holders in their secondary jobs was 9.5 hours per week in June quarter 2019, 9.3 hours in June quarter 2020, and 9.1 hours in June quarter 2021.”

Total jobs in Australia increased by 262,000 (1.8%) in the quarter ended June 30, of which 167,000 were filled jobs and 95,000 were vacant jobs, according to the ABS. This was prior to the recent lockdowns and other restrictions across large parts of Australia, and the 3.7% reduction in payroll jobs through July.