New ABS data reveals WA’s 20-24 year olds most likely to work multiple jobs amid cost of living crisis

Young West Aussies are increasingly taking on more work to make ends meet, with fresh data revealing those in their early 20s are now the most likely in the State to have multiple jobs. Australian Bureau of Statistic figures show 10.3 per cent of those aged 20 to 24 held were employed by more than one company — a significant shift from a decade ago, when it was the 25 to 34 cohort who were most likely. In 2016, 28.1 per cent of multiple job holders fell within that age bracket. Today, just 8.5 per cent of West Australians aged 25 to 34 hold more than one job. The figures come as young workers grapple with rising living costs, housing pressures and the challenge of building savings while maintaining a social life. For 21-year-old Connor Thompson, working multiple jobs has become a way of life. The Perth event and operations coordinator, band technician, freelance consultant and creative manager for several Perth-based bands, Mr Thompson said he had rarely relied on a single income stream since finishing school. “I split my time between multiple jobs,” he said. “I’ve had two jobs, sometimes more, since the end of high school, a bit before I turned 18.” Mr Thompson said holding down multiple jobs was becoming increasingly common among young people. “I think for many young people, if you’re not working two jobs, facing cost of living pressures and living with any semblance of comfort becomes even harder,” Mr Thompson said. “Having two jobs becomes a necessity to ensure you’re prepared for anything - or sometimes everything - to suddenly get even more expensive. “All of that is before deciding you also deserve an occasional night out or a couple beers with friends after work, something previous generations enjoyed freely, yet is often now framed as financial recklessness when we do the same.” He said many of his peers were balancing several jobs alongside university study. “I have plenty of friends with two even three jobs, most also juggling them around studying at uni. I’d say it feels like standard practice these days,” Mr Thompson said. While he believes it is still possible to survive on a single income, he said many entry-level wages left little room for long-term financial security. “I don’t think it’s impossible to survive comfortably with just one job these days, but as a young person, unless you’ve struck gold with a high-paying dream job, most wages on offer only just cover the essentials,” he said. “They rarely leave much room to create any real sense of comfort, let alone to establish yourself, build a life, and work towards long-term goals.” For Mr Thompson, the additional income provides both financial breathing room and future opportunities. “The extra bit of income going into my savings each month helps me absorb rising day-to-day costs with far less stress, gives me freedom to have a social life as a young adult, opens up prospects of travelling and new experiences, and allows long-term financial and life goals to feel slightly less out of reach,” he said. The ABS estimates about 100,000 West Aussies currently hold multiple jobs, equivalent to around one in every 17 employed people. That is significantly lower than a decade ago, when 180,600 West Australians — or 15.6 per cent of workers — held more than one job during 2016-17. ABS head of labour statistics Sean Crick confirmed younger workers are currently the most likely to take on additional employment. “People who are younger tend to have multiple jobs, particularly those in the 20 to 24 age group,” Mr Crick said. “The industries where people are working multiple jobs include healthcare, accommodation and cafes, and industries like that where you’d expect a lot of younger people to work.” Mr Crick said the State’s multiple job-holding rate had eased in recent months after peaking in the years following the pandemic. “What we found for Western Australia is that there are about 100,000 people in WA who hold multiple jobs. That means they have more than one job at a time, which is about one in every 17 people,” he said. “That’s come down slightly from what it was three months ago. When you look across time, and this is the same as what we saw nationally as well, prior to COVID the average multiple job-holding rate was a little bit lower than that, so between 5 and 6 per cent of people who had a job would have multiple jobs. “That dropped right off during the COVID pandemic, but then it shot quite up and went to a peak in the period after COVID when we had higher interest rates and so forth. “Since then, over the last 12 to 18 months, it’s been coming down. That’s what we saw in WA this last three months as well — the number of people with multiple jobs declined slightly from three months ago.” While most workers rely on a single employer, those who hold multiple jobs often juggle more than two positions. “Most people in WA just have the one job, but for those who have more than one job, the average is 2.5 jobs,” Mr Crick said. “You find that for people who do have more than one job, quite a few will have three or four as well.” Regional Western Australia also recorded higher rates of multiple job holding than metropolitan areas. “People in areas outside of capital cities are more likely to have multiple jobs. We saw this everywhere as well,” Mr Crick said. “When you look at WA, it’s the Exmouth region which has the highest proportion of people who have multiple jobs. Perth is second, and then Halls Creek and East Pilbara come in third and fourth in terms of areas with people holding multiple jobs.” The data also challenges assumptions that holding multiple jobs leads to higher incomes. “When you look at WA, people who have multiple jobs actually have a lower median income than people who only hold a single job,” Mr Crick said. “For people who have one job, their median income is about $67,000. For people who have multiple jobs, across all their jobs, that median income comes down to $55,000.” Workers with multiple jobs are also spending more time on the clock. “We also found that people who have multiple jobs actually work more hours on average each week,” he said. “People who have a single job work about 34.8 hours a week on average, but people who have multiple jobs work almost 40 hours per week.”