More people working multiple jobs, lower vacancies in June quarter: ABS

The news: More people are working two or more jobs, with women and young workers most likely to be taking on extra work, ABS figures for the June quarter show. Job vacancies fell for a third straight quarter, but remain higher than pre-pandemic levels.

The numbers: The number of people working multiple jobs rose to a record 959,000 in the June quarter, 7% higher than a year ago. Young workers aged 20-24 were most likely to work multiple jobs (8.9%), while 7.7% of employed women had multiple jobs compared to 5.7% of employed men. Roughly 2.7% of jobs were vacant in the June quarter, down from the 2022 September quarter high of 3.2% but still above the pre-pandemic level of 1.6% in 2020's March quarter.

The context: Cost of living pressures and labour shortages have contributed to the number of Australians taking on more work. Despite a high interest rate environment, the jobs market has remained strong and unemployment has ranged between 3.4% and 3.7% since June 2022. However, the Reserve Bank expects this figure to gradually increase to around 4.5% in late 2024 as the economy continues to cool from its interest rate hiking cycle.