Jobs a juggling act

Workers opt for multiple roles

UNEMPLOYMENT on the Gold Coast is down on last year but people are working harder to make ends meet, with the average local working 1.4 jobs.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data has revealed more than 1.9 million employees across the country held multiple jobs in 2015-16, compared with 1.8 million in 2011-12.

Figures show that nationally, about 15 per cent of employed people hold multiple jobs.

This is particularly true on the Gold Coast, where many people work in hospitality as waiters, for example, or work as Uber drivers as well as having other jobs. On the Gold Coast, the average annual income sits well over $50,000 but the median pay for a single job (that is, casual, part-time, contract and full-time work) in some suburbs is just $25,000 a year.

Jobs at Ormeau and Yatala are likely to snag you the most with a median of $27,000 a year while a job at Surfers Paradise will earn just $11,800 annually, according to the figures.

Having a second job however doesn’t always mean more in the bank.

Over the same period, the average employment income of a multiple job holder was $39,813 all-up, compared to single job holders who received $48,028 in a year.

Gold Coast suburbs were also home to the highest number of jobs held in Queensland, with 25,400 jobs at Upper Coomera and 24,500 at Surfers Paradise. More than half the Coast’s employed people work less than 40 hours a week.

Griffith University employment relations department head Ruth McPhail said the Coast’s workers were moving outside traditional 9 to 5 employment.

“I think the changing job market goes beyond the casualisation of the workforce for hospitality and shiftworkers,” Professor McPhail said. “For the first time we are seeing a shift in the type of work out there.

“The mix for example is with gig workers who use things like Upwork or Uber or those in the sharing economy like AirBnb.

“You also see an increasing amount of mixed market places with online retail as well in Etsy, eBay and Amazon.”

IRS Training and Recruitment director Ryan Tuckwood said the Coast’s spirit of entrepreneurship also meant locals were keen to hold more than one job.

“We are seeing more people than ever have a second job,’’ he said.

“Previously people would quit their job and start a business.

“Now they are taking the training and transitioning at the same time, or staying with two.

“That to me is a really good indicator the market is going well here and people are diversifying.”