New government data reveals rise in employed people and hours worked
The number of multiple job holders in Australia went up slightly in the December quarter of 2025, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Its latest Labour Account figures showed there were 976,400 people juggling multiple jobs in Australia, up 0.4% from the September quarter.
The growth rate is slower than the 2.4% recorded in the September quarter, and also 9,800 fewer than in the December quarter of 2024.
The rise in multiple job-holders comes as the number of employed people in Australia went up to 15 million in the December quarter of 2025.
This follows an increase of 99,800 people in the quarter.
"The number of employed people rose by 0.7% in line with the 0.7% rise in hours worked this quarter," said Sean Crick, head of the ABS labour statistics, in a statement.
The total number of hours worked in the December quarter increased by 45 million hours to 6.1 billion hours.
According to the ABS, hours worked grew in 16 out of 19 industries, with the largest growth recorded in the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing industry, with a 5.4% rise.
"This rise was largely due to a strong harvest season and bouncing back from the 6.3% fall in September quarter 2025," Crick said.
Filled jobs increase
Meanwhile, filled jobs also went up by 60,700 jobs, or 0.4%, to reach 16.1 million jobs in the December quarter.
This reflects a rise in both main jobs and secondary jobs of 0.4%, or 56,400 and 4,300, respectively, the report noted.
The construction industry drove the rise in total filled jobs, with a 0.9% increase in December.
It also saw the largest growth in the number of filled jobs, growing by 4.5% or 57,700 jobs, in the last 12 months.
"Construction is now the third largest employing industry in Australia, accounting for 8.2% of total filled jobs in December quarter 2025," Crick said.
