Working from home triggers spike in number of people double jobbing

By the end of 2022, around 80,000 people aged between 15 and 64 were working in two or more jobs. A further 4,000 people aged 65 and over were also working multiple jobs at the end of last year, the research revealed.

The new working paper looking at labour dynamics in Ireland shows overall employment levels grew by 40pc in 20 years. with around 2.57 million people at work here at the end of last year.

In the same period, the number of people employed in more than one job has risen significantly faster.

In 2002 there were around 30,000 workers in Ireland with multiple jobs.

The working paper pointed to trends that have transformed the Irish workforce as a result of the pandemic. The number of people working in part-time employment was up 13pc at the end of last year compared to the final months of 2019.

In the same period, the number of those in full time employment rose by 8pc.

Those workers who are now more readily available to work additional hours may be open to secondary employment, the paper found.

Around 22pc of the 2.57 million people in employment in Ireland now work from home, with a further 12.5pc stating that they occasionally work from home.

Before the pandemic, just 8.2pc worked from home.

The report found that working time flexibility and reductions in commuting time would allow workers to spend more time working on a second job.

Men account for the majority of those in Ireland working multiple jobs, while the number of women with two or more roles has risen in recent years.

These second or third jobs tend to be concentrated in the agricultural sector, as well as the services sector, which has seen strong expansion.

Despite this steady growth, Ireland has one of the lowest rates of multiple employment in the EU, with 3.2pc of all workers employed in more than one job.

Around 3.9pc of all EU workers have multiple jobs, while, in the UK, 3.8pc have more than one position.

Factors that influence those opting for more than one role include being unable to take on more hours in the primary job, low pay, insecurity around the position, wanting to develop new skills or to set up a new business.

Favourable tax treatment of a second job is likely to have an impact on the numbers opting to work multiple roles. The paper points to the UK, where National Insurance liabilities are calculated independently across multiple jobs. This potentially reduces the tax burden for someone with two part-time jobs compared to one full-time position, although this is not the case in Ireland.