- 978,000 working Aussies held multiple jobs as of March 2026, representing 6.5% of the current working population
- The number of people working multiple jobs only exceeded 6.0% once between March 2004 and September 2021, but the rate has hovered between 6.3% and 6.7% since
- 7.2% of working women held multiple jobs, compared to 5.7% of working men, in March 2026
- This is the greatest disparity between the two over the last five years (around 105,000), having sat at just 0.7% (around 45,000) in September 2024
- Over one in ten people aged between 20 and 24 (10.3%) worked multiple jobs
A record number of women in Australia are working two or more jobs, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as the gap between them and multi-job-working men widens even further.
The ABS’ latest Multiple job-holders report was released earlier this week, finding that 7.2% of working women (541,400) held multiple positions, compared to 5.7% of men (436,200), as of March 2026.
That figure is the highest recorded for women over the last five years, while the number of male multiple jobholders has dropped to a three-year low.
The gap of 1.5% between the two, or around 105,000 workers, is at a five-year peak, having been as close as 0.7%, or approximately 45,000 workers, as recently as September 2024.
All up, 978,000 Aussies were working multiple jobs, which is the third-greatest number recorded by ABS and continues a trend of more multi-job workers present since 2021.
So, why are we seeing more and more women taking up more than one job, especially while the number of men doing the same is falling?
One job not cutting it for women crunched by cost of living, wage gap
Perhaps the most obvious explanation for the increase is the ongoing cost-of-living pressures that continue to squeeze household budgets to their limits.
According to the ABS, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 4.0% in the year to May 2026, with the cost of housing rising by 6.5% and 3.3% rises in transport, food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Finder’s Cost of Living Pressure Gauge went up to 82% in May, with mortgage stress rising from 57% to 67% and average cash savings dropping from $39,646 to $37,741 month-on-month.
While these pressures affect men and women alike, the gender pay gap (GPG) is very much a reality for women in the private sector, with the average GPG sitting at 21.1% as of the 2024-25 financial year.
That discrepancy adds up to an average of $28,356 over 12 months, highlighting just how much more many Australian women need to work to attempt to break even with their male counterparts.
It’s worth noting that the gap has been decreasing over the last decade, but the shift is slow at just 7.5% between 2013-14 and 2024-25.
The most common work combination for women in multiple jobs was two positions within the Health Care and Social Assistance industry, followed by doubling up in Education and Training and Accommodation and Food Services, according to ABS data from 2022-23.
Side hustle culture at an all-time high
The other key factor in all of this is the ease with which people nowadays can pick up a side hustle and run with it for extra cash.
A Westpac survey from November 2025 found that 27% of Aussies were earning money from a side hustle or microbusiness, while 28% were considering starting one up at some point over the next year.
On top of that, ASIC revealed that 43,393 new businesses were registered throughout June for a total of 385,716 across the last financial year, both of which were at their highest points since records began in 1999.
Tellingly, the boom came in the month following the Australian Government’s Budget announcement.
The king of side hustles over the last five to ten years has been Uber, which now boasts over 100,000 drivers on its books, but data from 2022 found that almost 93% of drivers at that time were men.
Although they aren’t well represented in Uber driving, the number of options available to women today is still virtually endless.
There’s a wide and diverse range of business opportunities that Aussie women can pursue, from freelancing in graphic design, writing or consultancy spaces to selling goods in online or physical marketplaces and everything in between.
Notably, the survey revealed that 83% of women pointed to supplementing their current income as a main driving factor behind starting (or intending to start) a side hustle.
On average, side hustlers are earning $736 per month ($8,800 per year), which works well for the 62% who intended to keep it as additional cashflow, but 30% are dreaming big and hoping to turn it into either part-time or full-time work.
One in ten working more than one job in their early 20s
It’s probably no surprise that the age group best represented in multiple job numbers is 20 to 24-year-olds, given that this is often the age where young men and women move out of home, study and attempt to find permanent work.
The ABS reported that 10.3% of those in that age bracket held multiple jobs as of March 2026, which was slightly down on December 2025 (10.5%) but notably higher than June 2025 (9.8%).
8.5% of 25 to 34-year-olds and 6.4% of under-19s were the next-highest, though multiple job rates among those under 19 years of age has fallen from a high of 7.2% last June.
