Quality of Employment in Canada
Multiple jobholders, 2023

In 2023, the share of employed Canadians holding more than one job was 5.6%, representing approximately 1.1 million people. While the proportion of workers with multiple jobs edged up from 2022 to 2023 (+0.1 percentage points), the rate remained below the high of 5.8% recorded in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers with part-time jobs—particularly those working part-time involuntarily—were more likely to have multiple jobs compared to full-time workers. Moreover, having more than one job was more common among paid employees with lower weekly earnings in their main job. Multiple jobholding was also more prevalent among self-employed workers.

Multiple jobholding is defined as having two or more jobs simultaneously. Multiple jobholders can be employees or self-employed, work full-time or part-time, or any combination thereof. The Labour Force Survey (LFS) collects selected information about a worker’s second job, if they have one, but it does not collect detailed information for the third job and beyond.

Unless otherwise noted, all analyses are based on annual averages from the LFS and reflect the situation of workers aged 15 years and older.

From a quality of employment perspective, working more than one job may indicate that the main job provides insufficient earnings. Nevertheless, people can have multiple jobs for various reasons. According to data from the LFS supplement, in August 2023, the most common reasons for working multiple jobs were financial necessity—such as paying for essential needs like groceries or housing— (34.9%), to earn extra income (34.8%), and to engage in work that they were passionate about (14.5%).^Note

Historical trends, 1976 to 2023

From 1976 to 2023, the proportion of workers holding multiple jobs more than doubled, rising from 2.1% to 5.6%. Almost all of this increase occurred before 1990, with the multiple jobholding rate remaining relatively stable thereafter until the mid-2010s.

Data table for Chart 1

Data table for chart 1
Table summary
This table displays the results of . The information is grouped by Year (appearing as row headers), Both sexes, Men and Women, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Year	Both sexes	Men	Women
	percent
Note: Due to rounding, estimates and percentages may differ slightly between different Statistics Canada products, such as analytical documents and data tables. Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, custom tabulation.
1976	2.1	2.5	1.4
1977	2.4	2.8	1.7
1978	2.4	2.8	1.8
1979	2.8	3.3	2.2
1980	3.1	3.5	2.4
1981	3.3	3.7	2.8
1982	3.2	3.5	2.8
1983	3.5	3.7	3.1
1984	3.5	3.7	3.3
1985	3.7	3.9	3.5
1986	3.8	4.0	3.7
1987	4.1	4.2	4.0
1988	4.5	4.5	4.5
1989	4.6	4.6	4.6
1990	4.8	4.7	4.9
1991	4.8	4.6	5.0
1992	4.8	4.6	5.1
1993	5.0	4.8	5.3
1994	4.9	4.6	5.4
1995	4.9	4.5	5.4
1996	5.1	4.6	5.8
1997	5.2	4.6	5.8
1998	5.0	4.5	5.6
1999	5.0	4.5	5.6
2000	4.8	4.2	5.6
2001	4.7	4.1	5.5
2002	5.1	4.4	5.8
2003	5.0	4.3	5.8
2004	5.1	4.3	5.9
2005	5.2	4.5	6.1
2006	5.3	4.6	6.0
2007	5.3	4.5	6.3
2008	5.3	4.5	6.1
2009	5.4	4.5	6.4
2010	5.4	4.5	6.4
2011	5.5	4.6	6.5
2012	5.3	4.4	6.3
2013	5.4	4.4	6.5
2014	5.3	4.5	6.2
2015	5.4	4.3	6.6
2016	5.6	4.7	6.6
2017	5.7	4.8	6.6
2018	5.8	4.7	6.9
2019	5.8	4.9	6.8
2020	4.5	3.9	5.1
2021	5.1	4.4	5.9
2022	5.5	4.8	6.3
2023	5.6	4.8	6.4

From 2014 to 2018, the share of multiple jobholders trended upwards, increasing 0.5 percentage points over this period to reach a high of 5.8%. An unprecedented decline in the multiple jobholding rate was recorded in 2020 (-1.3 percentage points to 4.5%) in the context of job losses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the share of workers holding multiple jobs has gradually recovered, and in 2023, the multiple jobholding rate was 5.6%, just below the pre-pandemic high of 5.8%.

A recent snapshot

Women have a higher rate of multiple jobholding compared with men

In the late 1970s and 1980s, employed men were more likely than women to hold multiple jobs. However, this trend reversed in the early 1990s. The incidence of multiple jobholding has since been consistently higher among women than men and has continued to grow among women. Multiple factors may account for this trend, such as the overall rise in women’s labour force participation and a higher rate of part-time employment among women.

Following the employment declines recorded in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the multiple jobholding rate rebounded among both men and women. From 2020 to 2023, the share of male workers holding multiple jobs increased by 0.9 percentage points to 4.8%, while for women it increased 1.3 percentage points to 6.4%. Yet, for women, the multiple jobholding rate did not return to its pre-pandemic level, and in 2023 it was 0.4 percentage points below the 6.8% level recorded in 2019.

Educational services, information, culture and recreation, and healthcare and social assistance were among the industries with the largest shares of multiple jobholders

The likelihood of holding multiple jobs also varied according to the industry of the main job. Educational services (8.7%); information, culture and recreation (8.6%); health care and social assistance (8.2%); agriculture (8.1%) and accommodation and food services (7.4%) had the highest rates of workers holding multiple jobs in 2023. Notably, educational services (67.7%), healthcare and social assistance (80.4%), and accommodation and food services (55.8%) are all industries where a larger percentage of workers are women.

Multiple jobholding more common among younger workers

In 2023, 6.6% of young workers aged 15 to 24 years held multiple jobs. In contrast, 5.8% of their core-aged counterparts (aged 25 to 54) were multiple jobholders. Workers aged 55 and older had the lowest multiple jobholding rate at 4.4%. Young workers (49.4%) had the highest rates of part-time employment compared to both core-aged workers (10.3%) and those aged 55 and older (21.9%), which partially explains the higher multiple jobholding rate within the younger age group.

Part-time workers more likely to hold multiple jobs

Most multiple jobholders (89.9%) held at least one part-time job as their first or second job in 2023. Workers employed part-time (less than 30 hours per week) in their main job had higher rates of multiple jobholding compared with those who worked full-time (30 hours or more per week). In 2023, 9.7% of workers who worked part-time in their main job held multiple jobs, a rate more than twice as high as the rate for full-time workers (4.7%).

In addition, the multiple jobholding rate was higher among involuntary part-time workers in their main job—those who worked on a part-time basis due to economic or business conditions, or because they could not find full-time work—than for other part-time workers (12.4% versus 9.2%).

Multiple jobholding rate higher for employees with low earnings

Among employees, the multiple jobholding rate tends to be higher among those with lower wages. In 2023, 7.8% of employees whose usual weekly wages at their main job were in the lowest quartile were multiple jobholders, compared with 3.4% of employees whose weekly wages were in the highest quartile.

Self-employed workers have a higher multiple jobholding rate compared to employees

In 2023, among workers who were self-employed in their main job, 7.1% held multiple jobs compared with 5.4% of employees. The higher rate of multiple jobholding among self-employed workers may be partly attributable to the greater flexibility offered by self-employment. However, some self-employed workers may also work at a second job or business due to challenges maintaining a stable income in their main job.^Note

Filipino and Black workers have higher rates of multiple jobholding

In 2023, 8.4% of Filipino workers held multiple jobs, compared to 5.3% of workers who are not racialized or Indigenous. The higher incidence of multiple jobholding among Filipino workers may be related in part to their industry of employment and the average weekly earnings of employees. Just over 2 in 10 (21.6%) Filipino workers were employed in healthcare and social assistance, while 11.2% worked in accommodation and food services, two industries with higher multiple jobholding rates. Further, compared with non-racialized employees (23.3%), Filipino employees (34.1%) were more likely to have earnings in the lowest weekly wage quartile, which may have contributed to their higher multiple jobholding rate.

A larger percentage of Black workers held multiple jobs (7.4%) than non-racialized non-Indigenous workers in 2023. Black workers were overrepresented in the healthcare and social assistance industry (20.7%) and Black employees were more likely to have earnings in the lowest weekly wage quartile (33.0%) compared with their non-racialized counterparts (23.3%)

Multiple jobholding more common among newer immigrants compared to their Canadian-born counterparts

In 2023, recent employed immigrants who had had landed five years ago or less (7.0%) and those who had landed from five to 10 years prior (7.0%) had higher rates of multiple jobholding compared with both workers born in Canada (5.3%) and established immigrants who had landed in Canada more than 10 year earlier (5.5%). Data from the LFS supplement showed that in August 2023, the share of workers holding multiple jobs primarily to afford essential goods was higher for immigrants who had arrived within the last 5 to 10 years (51.4%) and for recent immigrants (50.1%) than for more established immigrants (40.6%) and persons born in Canada (29.8%, population aged 15 to 69).