In a new series of blogs, we will be reviewing the current and historical work of City-REDI.
In the next blog of the series, Darja Reuschke discusses her recent report about understanding young women’s multiple jobs.
One in four young women in Great Britain have worked more than one job over the course of a single tax year.
That’s the striking finding from new analysis by researchers at the Universities of Birmingham and Nottingham, working with the Women’s Budget Group (WBG) and Young Women’s Trust.
This report shines a light on a hidden feature of the UK labour market: the growing prevalence of multiple jobholding among young women, and what it reveals about insecurity, low pay and gaps in employment protections.
What the overall project sets out to do
Official labour market statistics underestimate how many people are juggling more than one job at the same time. This project set out to uncover the true scale of multiple jobholding, particularly among women and young people aged 16–29, by combining innovative data sources that have not been used together.
By linking HM Revenue & Customs Real Time Information payroll data with the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) — and comparing this with self-reported survey data — the research provides a much clearer picture of the scale of multiple jobholding and gender inequalities in employment.
Key Findings of the report
The analysis reveals stark gendered patterns in young people’s work:
- 24.7% of young women (16-29-years-old) worked multiple jobs over the 2018–19 tax year, compared with 20.2% of young men. At least 13% of young women had two or more concurrent jobs on a more regular basis.
- In more recent survey data, one in ten young women report that they worked more than one job at the same time in 2023–24 — a sharp rise from the previous year.
- Young women with multiple jobs are far more likely to be in temporary or insecure contracts, with 36% on temporary contracts in their main job compared with 24% of young women with only one job.
- Hospitality emerges as a key sector for multiple jobholding, reflecting short hours, variable shifts and low pay.
Together, these findings point to multiple jobholding not as a lifestyle choice, but as a survival strategy in an increasingly fragmented labour market.
Why does this matter?
Multiple jobholding has long-term consequences. Many young women do not earn enough with any single employer to qualify for automatic pension enrolment, increasing their risk of future pension insecurity and deepening gendered inequalities over the life course.
Crucially, the project shows that policy decisions are being made using incomplete evidence. If multiple jobholding is under-reported, the scale of in-work insecurity — and its gendered impacts — remains largely invisible.
Policy Relevance and Impact
The findings arrive at a critical moment for employment policy. Alongside the Women’s Budget Group and Young Women’s Trust, the research team is calling for:
- Full delivery of the Employment Rights Act
- Stronger enforcement of employment protections
- Targeted action to address insecure work and low pay among young workers — particularly young women
Without intervention, the researchers warn that today’s patterns of multiple jobholding risk locking in gender inequalities across women’s working lives.
Looking Ahead
This project demonstrates the power of innovative data and policy‑engaged research to challenge what we think we know about work. By making invisible labour visible, it opens new conversations about job quality, income security and fairness in the UK labour market.
As cost‑of‑living pressures continue, understanding how people are really working — job quality not just quantity of employment — will be essential to building a more secure and inclusive economy.
Read the full Women’s Budget Group report.
This blog was written by Darja Reuschke, Professor of Regional Economic Development, City-REDI, University of Birmingham.
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in this analysis post are those of the authors and not necessarily those of City-REDI / WMREDI or the University of Birmingham.