More than 200,000 Londoners had more than one job in 2024 – about 4% of those in employment. Multiple job holding has become more common over the past decade, growing from 147,000 (3.6% of London’s workforce) in 2014 to 201,000 (4.3%) in 2024.

Cost-of-living pressures, greater working flexibility, and the expansion of the gig economy could all have contributed to this trend, according to academic studies. Some people might be pushed into second jobs because a main job doesn’t provide high enough hourly pay or enough working hours. In other cases, people might use second jobs to develop new skills and explore alternative career paths.[1],[2] Other than the financial and career motives, psychological fulfilment is another driver for multiple job holding.[3]^,[4]

Multiple job holding is usually associated with higher flexibility, higher job mobility but lower job security.[5]^,[6] This atypical employment has become more important in today’s labour market.

This supplement uses data from the Office for National Statistics Annual Population Survey (APS) for 2014 to 2024 to explore the changing patterns of second job holdings in London and the socio-economic characteristics of second job holders. The analysis is limited to London residents in employment (self-employed or employed) of working age.

It is an abridged version of a forthcoming GLA Economics publication on the labour market.

Key points:

• Multiple job holding is an increasingly common phenomenon in London, growing from 147,000 (3.6% of London’s workforce) in 2014 to 201,000 (4.3%) in 2024.
• The main motivations for taking second jobs in London are a desire for more hours of work and financial constraints. Certain demographic groups (women, older workers) are disproportionally affected.
• Part-time workers are more likely to hold second jobs than full-time workers. Some 7.9% of part-time workers also have second jobs while the rate among full-time workers is 2.7%.
• Lower job security is linked to greater uptake of second jobs. Self-employed workers, those on temporary contracts, and those in smaller size companies are more likely to take additional jobs.
• Workers in caring and professional occupations are more likely to have second jobs.
• By sector, those working in arts & recreation, education, health, and professional services are more likely to have second jobs.

Number of Londoners with second jobs is probably increasing

The number of people with multiple jobs in London has risen over the last decade. In 2014, around 147,000 people in London held second jobs, 3.6% of all those with jobs. By 2024, the number increased to 201,000 (4.3% of those with jobs). However, because of the number of second job holders in the sample of the APS, these estimates come with a degree of statistical uncertainty. That means we should not read too much into these changes over time.

In the rest of the UK, the share of workers taking second jobs was rather static, at around 3.7% over the decade. On average, there were just under 1 million second job holders in the rest of the UK from 2014 to 2024. Because there is a larger sample for the rest of the UK, there is less uncertainty about this result (Figure A1).

Figure A1: Share of workers with more than one job

Source: ONS Annual Population Survey, 2014-2024

Second job holdings are more common among women, older and better-educated workers

Across all age groups, women consistently show higher rates of second job holding than men, both in London and the rest of the UK. In London, 4.2% of female workers have second jobs, compared to 3.4% of male workers. This gender gap is even wider in the rest of the UK, where 4.6% of women and 2.9% of men hold second jobs.

Age also plays a role. In London, workers aged 50–64 are the most likely to hold second jobs, with 4.9% (around 49,000 people per year) doing so. The younger age groups (16–24 and 25–49) both have a lower share (3.5%), although the 25–49 group accounts for the largest number in absolute terms (around 106,000 people annually). A similar pattern is observed in the rest of the UK, where older workers are 0.5 percentage points more likely to have second jobs than younger groups.

Figure A2: Share of workers with second jobs by age group and gender

Source: ONS Annual Population Survey, 2014-2024

In London, 4.4% of workers with a degree or equivalent qualifications (about 113,000 people annually) hold second jobs. In comparison, just 3.0% (55,000) of those with qualifications below degree level do the same. The trend is the same in the rest of the UK, where 4.9% of degree-holders and 3.2% of those with lower qualifications take on second roles.

Part-time workers have a higher probability of becoming second job holders

Around 20% of London’s workers were part-time over the years 2014-2024, and they were much more likely to have more than one job than their full-time equivalents. Some 7.9% of part-time Londoners – an average of 72,000 people per year from 2014 to 2024 – had second jobs, compared to 2.7% of full-time workers. But because full-time employment dominates London’s labour force, they still make up a majority of second job holders, with around 98,000 workers per year. In the rest of the UK, part-time workers were also 4.8 percentage points more likely than full-time workers to take second jobs (7.3% versus 2.5%).

Among part-time workers in London, 16.8% said they want more working hours. The share increases to 18.4% among those with second jobs. This indicates that some workers are underemployed in their main roles, and they take second jobs because of the hour constraints.

Lower job security in main job linked to higher uptake of second jobs

Job security is generally lower among workers who are self-employed, in smaller size companies, and on temporary contracts (see references above). Those in less secure main jobs are more likely to take on second jobs. This may be because individuals need to manage financial pressures through additional earnings.

The APS survey shows that 5.4% of self-employed Londoners have a second job – 2.0 percentage points higher than their employee counterparts. In 2024, there were 102,000 self-employed second-job workers in London. Similarly, in the rest of the UK, 5.1% of self-employed workers hold second jobs, compared to 3.5% among employees.

Self-employed workers also tend to get self-employed second jobs. The most common first to second job status is self-employed to self-employed, which has always been the largest proportion of first-to-second job patterns each year, both in London and across the rest of the UK (Figure A3).

Zooming into only those with second jobs, self-employed jobs account for 52.2% in London. In the rest of the UK, second jobs are more likely to be employee-based, at 57.2%.

Figure A3: First and second job status

Source: ONS Annual Population Survey, 2014-2024

Workers whose first jobs are in small and micro size companies are more likely to have second jobs. 4.3% (29,000 per year) of workers from micro companies (with one to 10 employees) and 3.9% (34,000) of workers from small companies (11 to 49 employees) take second jobs.

Second jobs are more common among temporary workers. 7.3% of temporary workers hold second jobs, representing around 17,000 people per year in London. Although the absolute number of people on permanent contracts that hold second jobs is higher, at 112,000 per year, the share is much lower at 3.2%. Workers are also more likely to stick with similar contract types across first and second jobs (Figure A4).

Over time, the proportion of permanent workers with second jobs is relatively steady. However, there has been a rise among temporary workers, particularly in the past two years. It should be noted that the jump may be unreliable due to a small sample size, even though these figures are averaged across the 2014-2024 time period.

In London, most of the temporary second jobs are casual work (44.1%) and under contract for fixed periods or tasks (23.8%). These are also the two main types of temporary second jobs in the rest of the UK.

Figure A4: First and second job contract

Source: ONS Annual Population Survey, 2014-2024

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[1] Wu, Z., Baimbridge, M., & Zhu, Y. (2009). Multiple job holding in the United Kingdom: evidence from the British Household Panel Survey. Applied Economics, 41(21), 2751-2766.

[2] Dvouletý, O., & Tykačová, A. (2025). Single and multiple job holders: comparative study of working hours and earnings. International Journal of Economic Policy Studies, 19(1), 119-133.

[3] Conen, W., & Stein, J. (2021). A panel study of the consequences of multiple jobholding: enrichment and depletion effects. Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, 27(2), 219-236.

[4] Campion, E. D., Caza, B. B., & Moss, S. E. (2020). Multiple jobholding: An integrative systematic review and future research agenda. Journal of Management, 46(1), 165-191.

[5] Bouwhuis, S., De Wind, A., De Kruif, A., Geuskens, G. A., Van der Beek, A. J., Bongers, P. M., & Boot, C. R. (2018). Experiences with multiple job holding: a qualitative study among Dutch older workers. BMC public health, 18, 1-12.

[6] Conen, W., & Schulze Buschoff, K. (2021). Introduction to the special issue: multiple jobholding in Europe. Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, 27(2), 141-147.