August 16, 2024 — Juggling two or more jobs is no walk in the park.
But for many people in Canada, and especially among Filipinos, multiple jobholding is a reality of life.
A recent paper by Statistics Canada shows that Filipinos in Canada are holding more than one job at a percentage greater than others.
In fact, Filipinos rack up a higher rate of multiple jobholding than the national average.
Released on July 25, 2024, the study is titled “Quality of Employment in Canada: Multiple jobholders, 2023”.
“In 2023, 8.4% of Filipino workers held multiple jobs, compared to 5.3% of workers who are not racialized or Indigenous,” the paper notes.
Take note that in 2023, the share of employed Canadians overall who are holding more than one job was 5.6 percent. In actual figures, this represents approximately 1.1 million people across the country.
Statistics Canada states that people hold more than one job for a variety of reasons.
As for folks who trace their heritage to the Philippines, the “higher incidence of multiple jobholding among Filipino workers may be related in part to their industry of employment and the average weekly earnings of employees”.
In particular, “Just over 2 in 10 (21.6%) Filipino workers were employed in healthcare and social assistance, while 11.2% worked in accommodation and food services, two industries with higher multiple jobholding rates.”
“Further, compared with non-racialized employees (23.3%), Filipino employees (34.1%) were more likely to have earnings in the lowest weekly wage quartile, which may have contributed to their higher multiple jobholding rate.”
For clarity, Statistics Canada defines multiple jobholding as “having two or more jobs simultaneously”.
In addition, “Multiple jobholders can be employees or self-employed, work full-time or part-time, or any combination thereof.”
The paper also notes that Blacks in Canada come in second to Filipinos when it comes to holding two or more jobs.
“A larger percentage of Black workers held multiple jobs (7.4%) than non-racialized non-Indigenous workers in 2023,” Statistics Canada notes.
“Black workers were overrepresented in the healthcare and social assistance industry (20.7%) and Black employees were more likely to have earnings in the lowest weekly wage quartile (33.0%) compared with their non-racialized counterparts (23.3%).”
There are pros and cons of holding more than one job.
One benefit is extra money.
Also, one may be looking at an eventual career shift, and the side hustle is a way of gaining valuable experience.
Others hold an additional job in a field they are very passionate about.
As for the downside, working two or more jobs can take a toll on one’s body and mind.
One or both of jobs could potentially suffer because one could fumble along the way. There is also the risk of burnout.
Meghan Fulford and Martha Patterson of Statistics Canada looked at the trend of working more than one employment in an October 28, 2019 paper titled “Labour Statistics at a Glance: Multiple jobholders in Canada”.
“People engage in multiple jobholding for various reasons, such as out of financial necessity, to ensure continuous employment, or to accumulate skills and expertise in other occupations,” the authors note.
“Although multiple jobholding can provide some benefits, it is also associated with an increased risk of injury, both at work and not at work,” the two state.
As well, “Multiple jobholding may also be a partial indicator of the extent to which changes in the economy—including the ‘gig’ economy—have contributed to the prevalence of non-standard or precarious work.”
The trend of holding multiple jobs is also prevalent among new immigrants to Canada.
This was highlighted in a paper titled “Labour Force Survey, August 2023”, which Statistics Canada released on September 8, 2023.
“In August 2023, recent immigrants who held multiple jobs were more likely than the Canadian-born population to do so to pay for essential needs,” the document states.
“Just over half (50.8%) of immigrant workers admitted to Canada less than 10 years ago who held multiple jobs indicated that paying for essential needs was the main reason for doing so. In comparison, 29.8% of Canadian-born workers who held multiple jobs in August were doing so to pay for essential needs.”
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