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Multiple jobs? The prevalence, intensity and determinants of multiple jobholding in Canada

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  • Paul Glavin

Abstract

While traditional labour market estimates indicate that there has been little change in the proportion of workers holding multiple jobs in North America, survey instrument deficiencies may be hiding more substantial growth driven by the gig economy. To address this possibility, I test a broader measure of multiple jobholding to examine its prevalence in the Canadian workforce based on two national studies of workers (2011 Canadian Work Stress and Health Study and 2019 Canadian Quality of Work and Economic Life Study). Almost 20% of workers in 2019 reported multiple jobholding – a rate that is three times higher than Statistics Canada estimates. While multivariate analyses reveal that the multiple jobholding rate in 2019 was 30% higher than in the 2011 Canadian Work Stress and Health Study, multiple jobholders in 2019 were less likely to report longer work hours in secondary employment. Analyses also revealed that having financial difficulties is consistently associated with multiple jobholding in 2011 and 2019. Collectively, these findings suggest that while the spread of short-term work arrangements has facilitated Canadians’ secondary employment decisions, for many workers these decisions may reflect underlying problems in the quality of primary employment in Canada, rather than labour market opportunity. I discuss the potential links between multiple jobholding, the gig economy and employment precariousness. JEL Code: J21

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Glavin, 2020. "Multiple jobs? The prevalence, intensity and determinants of multiple jobholding in Canada," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 31(3), pages 383-402, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecolab:v:31:y:2020:i:3:p:383-402
    DOI: 10.1177/1035304620933399
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    Cited by:

    1. Giorgos Gouzoulis & Panagiotis (Takis) Iliopoulos & Giorgos Galanis, 2023. "Financialisation, Underemployment, & the Disconnected Greek Capitalism," Working Papers 112, Queen Mary, University of London, School of Business and Management, Centre for Globalisation Research.
    2. Gholipour, Hassan F. & Kalantari, Hassan D. & Kousary, Mohammad, 2022. "Self-employment and Life Satisfaction: The Moderating Role of Perceived Importance of Family, Friends, Leisure Time, and Work," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    3. Giorgos Gouzoulis & Panagiotis (Takis) Iliopoulos & Giorgos Galanis, 2023. "Financialization and the rise of atypical work," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(1), pages 24-45, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Employment conditions; gig economy; informal economy; labour markets; multiple jobholding; secondary employment; sociology of work;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure

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