New US data next week to show 7.8% of workforce have multiple jobs

WASHINGTON: The US Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Thursday it will present new data next week that will show 7.8 per cent of the country's workforce hold multiple jobs, a trend that has been on the rise during the past 20 years.

In a statement, the Census Bureau said the data next Wednesday will also show that earnings from secondary jobs, on average, account for 27.8 per cent of a multiple jobholder's total quarterly earnings.

"Multiple jobholding occurs at all levels of earnings, with both higher- and lower-earnings multiple jobholders earning more than 25 per cent of their total earnings from multiple jobs," it said. "These new statistics tell us that multiple jobholding is more important in the US economy than realised."

The data could contribute to the heated debate on President Joe Biden's proposal to raise the minimum wage to US$15 per hour from the current rate of US$7.25 by 2025.

The Congressional Budget Office this week said Biden's plan would take 900,000 people out of poverty that year, but also cut employment by 1.4 million jobs.