Record number of Aussies working multiple jobs… and tradies joining fast
One job used to pay the bills. Now it barely keeps the lights on. With costs climbing and pay going nowhere, almost a million Australians are stacking Jobs, not for ambition, to survive. Tradies are right in the middle of it, juggling longer days just to stay afloat.
Long days. Longer weeks.
The number is hard to ignore. Close to a million Aussies now hold multiple jobs, a record high driven more by pressure than choice. This is not an outbreak of entrepreneurship. It is everyday costs eating away at what used to be enough.
For years, the deal was simple: one full time job, bills covered, maybe a bit left over. That equation has cracked. Inflation has smashed rents, fuel and groceries, while wages have barely budged. Most people have already felt it hit their wallets.
Why tradies feel it first
Tradies sit right on the frontline. Long physical days, early starts and incomes that can swing depending on weather, contracts or cash flow. Add rising fuel costs, tools, insurance and repayments, and the margin for error disappears fast. When the pressure hits, it lands harder on those who work with their hands.
You do not need to be a stats nerd to see why manual workers are being pulled into multiple jobs earlier than many others. When income is not guaranteed week to week, flexibility stops being optional. Stability has to come from somewhere, even if that means stacking another job on top.
“When income stops being predictable, one job stops being enough.”
When the side hustle is no longer optional
For a long time, a side hustle meant extra cash. A few beers on the weekend or maybe some savings if you were serious. Now, for many workers and especially tradies, that extra job is no longer a bonus. It is what keeps the numbers balanced.
Weekend shifts, after hours work and odd jobs do not exactly improve quality of life. They stretch the week thinner and thinner. Full time hours are already pushing past forty a week. Flexibility disappears. So does the midweek breather.
Working more is not the real issue
Here is the uncomfortable truth. Most people now working two jobs were already working hard. The problem is not effort. It is that the same effort does not go as far as it used to while inflation keeps chewing away.
This is not sustainable. Fatigue builds, mistakes become more likely and errors cost real money, especially for tradies carrying bigger responsibilities. But when the alternative is falling behind on rent or repayments, exhaustion becomes part of the deal.
“No one’s chasing a grind badge. They’re just trying to keep up…”
The pressure is real, the response comes next
This is not about glorifying burnout or celebrating grind culture. It is about calling out a reality that is getting uncomfortable fast. As more Australians, tradies included, are stretched to the limit, something has to give. Less endless hours. Smarter ways of working. Pay that actually keeps up with real life. Because running on empty is not a long-term plan for anyone on site.
Trending News
This is not a story about wealthy people whinging over expensive finishes. This is about ironclad contracts, untouchable builders and a client who says he was left with a rubbish penthouse and then threatened on top of it. The video has already gone viral, and what it shows is hard to ignore while the whole industry watches. This is exactly the kind of yarn that gets passed around on smoko, coffee in hand.