More Australians are seeking extra work amid cost-of-living pressures, pushing the multiple job holder rate to a record high 6.9% in the second quarter, Westpac said in its Q2 Labor Account report Monday.
The data showed filled jobs rising by 111,000 in the second quarter following a 135,000 gain in the first quarter and earlier increases over the second half of last year.
Westpac said a 52,000 lift in secondary jobs over the second quarter nearly matched the 59,000 gain in main jobs.
"A rise in multiple job holdings is consistent with our earlier observations on the impact of cost-of-living concerns, leading many individuals to seek extra hours of work or additional jobs in order to buffer against these pressures," the bank said.
It added that the jobs growth strength indicates labor demand and supply are settling around a firmer level than implied by the monthly labor force survey alone, where employment growth has been considerably softer.
However, Westpac cautioned that the labor market is further downstream from shocks emanating from the Middle East conflict, so the second-quarter data is still largely feeding off an earlier economic recovery and may not fully reflect the more challenging conditions that have now emerged.