Multiple Jobholders in the United States: 2013

May 2019

P70BR-163

Julia Beckhusen

Current Population Reports

INTRODUCTION 

The majority of workers have one paid job at a time. 

A small but stable percentage use secondary employment to compensate for things their main job lacks. 

Their main job may not offer enough work hours, the 

pay rate may be too low, or the job itself may not 

provide satisfaction or have growth potential.1 When 

workers face such barriers, they may choose to compensate by holding additional jobs. Multiple jobholders 

comprise an established portion of the labor force (4.9 

percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 

[BLS]) and have had a steady presence—between 

4.5 percent and 6.2 percent since 1970.2 Annual and 

monthly rates have been available for decades, however, little is known about the patterns of jobholding 

that multiple jobholders follow throughout the year. 

Understanding these patterns and the extent of multiple jobholding will provide a more complete picture 

of the U.S. workforce. 

The recently redesigned Survey of Income and 

Program Participation (SIPP) provides new ways to 

analyze the dynamics of employment. SIPP collects 

continuous, detailed information on up to seven jobs 

or businesses held during a 12-month period. This 

type of data allows researchers to study the dynamics 

of employment and provides comprehensive information on jobs held and businesses owned throughout 

the year. 

Taking advantage of the unique qualities of SIPP, 

this brief uses data from the first year of collection 

1 Shishko and Rostker (1976); Paxson and Sicherman (1996); 

Renna and Oaxaca (2006). 2 Hipple (2010).

to explore multiple jobholding in the United States 

throughout 2013.3 This brief answers four main questions. First, what proportion of working men and 

women held multiple jobs and how many jobs did 

they hold? Second, how did multiple jobholding vary 

throughout the year? Third, how did multiple jobholders balance their time across jobs and what factors 

motivated this decision? Finally, what types of jobs or 

businesses were held simultaneously?

3 The U.S. Census Bureau’s Disclosure Review Board and 

Disclosure Avoidance Officers have reviewed this data product 

for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and have 

approved the disclosure avoidance practices applied to this release. 

DRB number: CBDRB-FY19-ROSS-B0056.

WHAT IS SIPP?

The Survey of Income and Program Participation 

(SIPP) is a nationally representative panel survey 

administered by the U.S. Census Bureau that 

collects information on the short-term dynamics 

of employment, income, household composition, and eligibility and participation in government assistance programs. It is a leading source 

of information on specific topics related to 

economic well-being, family dynamics, education, wealth and assets, health insurance, child 

care, and food security. Each SIPP panel follows 

individuals for several years, providing monthly 

data that measure changes in household and 

family composition and economic circumstances 

over time. For more information, please visit the 

SIPP Web site at <www.census.gov/sipp>.
2 U.S. Census Bureau

Defining Multiple Jobholders in 

SIPP

The 2014 Panel of SIPP collected 

information on up to seven jobs or 

businesses held during the 2013 

calendar year.4 For the purposes of 

this brief, each worker’s jobs were 

ranked by tenure and job hours.5

The main job was defined as the 

job with the longest tenure.6 If the 

worker had equal tenure at two 

jobs, then the job with the highest 

weekly hours was chosen as the 

main job.7 Lastly, the start and end 

weeks of each other job was compared with the start and end weeks 

4 Few data sources offer this much 

detail on employment. One other source 

is the Longitudinal Employer-Household 

Dynamics program at <https://lehd.ces

.census.gov/research/>. 5 In the 2014 Panel of SIPP, respondents 

were able to report up to two changes in 

typical hours worked. For this report, we 

used the highest level of hours reported. 6 The terms “main job” and “primary 

job” are used in literature to indicate the 

worker’s steadiest job, but the actual 

definition used varies by author. Conway 

and Kimmel (1998) used highest earnings; 

and Averett (2001) and Hirsch, Husain, and 

Winters (2017) used highest hours worked. 

In earlier panels of SIPP, as well as the 

Current Population Survey (CPS), the main 

job was defined as the job with the most 

hours worked. 7 There were a few respondents with 

two simultaneous jobs where the longest 

held job was one that they only work a few 

hours a week. In cases where the respondent worked fewer than 10 hours a week 

at their job with the longest tenure, the job 

with the most hours was instead assigned 

as the main job.

of the main job to determine if they 

were held simultaneously.8

A single jobholder was defined 

as a worker who did not have any 

other job overlapping their main 

job.9 A multiple jobholder was 

defined as a worker who, at any 

point during the year, worked 

simultaneously at their main job 

and at least one other job for 

longer than 1 week. The workers’ 

8 In SIPP, jobs are reported in spells, with 

up to two spells per year. When a job had 

two spells, the start and end dates of each 

spell was considered when looking for jobs 

held simultaneously. Respondents were 

also able to report spells of “away without 

pay.” These spells were not considered in 

this analysis. 9 A single jobholder may have had more 

than one job throughout the year but they 

were held at different points in time.

additional jobs were then ranked 

by tenure and job hours. These 

other jobs were then labelled, as 

needed, as their “second,” “third,” 

fourth,” and “fifth” jobs. Finally, 

multiple jobholders were categorized as having either two jobs or 

three or more jobs.10

Table 1 displays the rate of 

multiple jobholding by number 

of jobs held. The percentage of 

multiple jobholders in 2013 was 

8.3 percent. Women had a higher 

rate of multiple jobholding than 

men, 8.8 percent compared with 

10 There were a small number of respondents who held four or five jobs simultaneously but due to the limitations of a small 

sample, for this analysis, we combine them 

with respondents with three multiple jobs. 

KEY CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS

Main job is a worker’s job with the longest tenure. If the worker 

had equal tenure at two jobs, then the job with the highest weekly 

hours was chosen as the main job.

Multiple jobholder is a worker who, at any point during the year, 

worked simultaneously at their main job and at least one other job 

for longer than 1 week. 

Single jobholder is a worker who had no other job overlapping 

their main job at any point during the year. 

Second job is the longest held job out of all the jobs that overlap 

with the main job. 

Full-time job is a job where the worker works more than 34 hours 

per week at that job. 

Table 1. 

Distribution Across Jobholding of Employed Men and Women Aged 16 and Over: 2013

Characteristic

Total Men Women

Estimate

Margin of 

error1 (±) Estimate

Margin of 

error1 (±) Estimate

Margin of 

error1 (±)

   Total employed . . . 158,100,000 1,465,000 82,820,000 988,400 75,300,000 1,086,000 

Single jobholders. . . . . . . 91.7 0.3 92.0 0.3 91.2 0.4

Multiple jobholders. . . . . . 8.3 0.3 8.0 0.3 8.8 0.4

 2 jobs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93.1 1.0 92.8 1.4 93.4 1.4

 3 to 5 jobs. . . . . . . . . . . . 6.9 1.0 7.2 1.4 6.6 1.4

1

 The margin of error is a measure of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error in relation to the size of the estimate, the less 

reliable the estimate. This number, when added to or subtracted from the estimate, represents the 90 percent confidence interval.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), 2014 Panel, Wave 1.
U.S. Census Bureau 3

8.0 percent, respectively.11 Over 

90 percent of multiple jobholders 

held two jobs, and 6.9 percent of 

multiple jobholders held three or 

more jobs. There was no significant difference in the number of 

multiple jobs held by men and 

women. The most jobs held simultaneously was five. Given that 

there is a limited number of hours 

in the week for working, it is not 

surprising that most workers only 

have two jobs. The greater number of jobs held, the more difficult 

it is for the worker to adjust their 

work hours across jobs. 

WORK SCHEDULE 

Workers can hold a combination 

of full-time (greater than 34 hours 

per week) and part-time jobs. The 

distribution of multiple jobholders 

by full-time and part-time status 

is shown in Figure 1a and 1b. 

Among multiple jobholders, 66.5 

percent of men and 54.5 percent 

of women had a full-time main job. 

The percentage with a full-time 

second job was lower—34.8 percent of men and 24.2 percent of 

women. Compared with women, 

men were more likely to work fulltime at both their main job and 

second job. However, overall, multiple jobholders were less likely 

to work full-time at their main job 

than single jobholders. 

Among both men and women, the 

most common combination was to 

work full-time at the main job and 

11 The BLS also collects information on 

multiple jobholders and their data similarly 

shows that a larger percentage of women 

were multiple jobholders—in 2013, the 

annual average rate of multiple jobholders 

was 5.2 percent for women and 4.6 percent 

for men. The rates from SIPP were higher 

likely because it includes any instances of a 

respondent’s multiple jobs throughout the 

year, while the CPS rate reflects a snapshot of multiple jobholding during specific 

points throughout the year.

part-time at their other job(s).12

About 42 percent of men and 

39.9 percent of women worked 

this schedule.13 Women were 

more likely than men to work 

part-time at all jobs (35.8 percent 

compared with 23.0 percent), 

while men were more likely than 

women to work full-time at every 

job (23.7 percent compared 

12 The BLS presented similar results from 

the CPS where 53 percent of all multiple 

jobholders worked full-time at the main job 

and part-time at the second job (Hipple 

2010). 13 The percentage of women (39.9 

percent) who worked full-time at the main 

job and part-time at their other job(s) is not 

significantly different from the percentage 

of men (42.2 percent).

with 14.3 percent). Due to the 

method in which the main job was 

assigned (described in previous 

section), it was possible for the 

main job to be part-time while 

another job was full-time. Figure 

1b shows these workers as working an “other” schedule. These 

other schedules could occur if the 

main job decreased in hours during a slow time in the year and the 

worker was able to increase their 

hours worked at one of their other 

jobs. While these schedules were 

the least likely, they still occurred 

for 11.1 percent of multiple 

Figure 1a. 

Percentage of Multiple and Single Jobholders Working 

Full-Time by Sex: 2013

Men

Women 66.5

54.5

34.8

24.2

83.2

69.8

(In percent)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), 

2014 Panel, Wave 1.

Single jobholders

Second job

Main job

Figure 1b. 

Distribution of Multiple Jobholders by Full-Time and 

Part-Time Status for All Multiple Jobs by Sex: 2013

42.2

39.9

11.1

23.0 

35.8 

23.7 

14.3 

10.0

All jobs Other

full-time

All jobs 

part-time

Main job full-time, 

others part-time
4 U.S. Census Bureau

jobholding men and 10.0 percent 

of multiple jobholding women.14

In SIPP, all employed respondents 

who worked part-time (fewer than 

35 hours per week) at a job were 

asked the main reason why they 

worked part-time at that job and 

were provided a list of reasons to 

select from. Figure 2 displays the 

reason why single and multiple 

jobholders worked part-time by 

job.15 Among multiple jobholding 

men and women, one of the reasons selected most often was that 

they “wanted to work part-time.” 

This was the top selected reason 

14 The percentage of women (10.0 percent) who work an “other” schedule is not 

statistically different from the percentage 

of men (11.1 percent). 15 The percentage of multiple jobholders who answered this question for their 

main job was 33.5 percent of men and 45.5 

percent of women. At their second job, this 

number increased to 65.2 percent among 

men and 75.8 percent among women. 

The percentage of single jobholders who 

answered this question was 16.8 percent 

among men and 30.2 percent among 

women.

among single jobholding women 

and one of the top reasons for 

single jobholding men. 

Multiple jobholding women were 

more likely than multiple jobholding men to select “in school or 

taking care of children or other 

person.” Among all part-time 

multiple jobholding women, 27.6 

percent selected this reason 

compared with 11.6 percent of 

men. The difference between 

single jobholding men and women 

who chose this category was less 

distinct—22.5 percent of men 

compared with 25.2 percent of 

women. Single and multiple jobholding men were more likely than 

women to select “could not find a 

full-time job, including slack work 

or material shortage.” 

Between the main job and the 

second job, the reasons workers 

gave for working part-time differed only slightly. Both men and 

women were more likely to work 

part-time at their second job compared with their first job because 

they “wanted to work part-time.” 

“Other” was also selected for the 

second job more often than for 

the main job—“other” includes 

being unable to work full-time 

due to injury, illness, disability, 

as well as participating in a job 

sharing arrangement or being on 

vacation. 

SEASONALITY OF 

JOBHOLDING 

We often think of multiple jobholders as those who pick up a 

second job in the summer or holiday season. It can be easier to find 

a job since employers are hiring 

to meet the demands of increased 

customer traffic doing their holiday shopping or taking vacations. 

For students, summertime means 

more time for secondary employment. The same could be true 

for those working in educationrelated jobs. If their work schedule 

Figure 2. 

Primary Reason for Working Part Time by Sex: 2013

Main job

Multiple jobholders

Men

Women

(In percent)

 32.7

 32.0

 11.6

 27.6

 23.9

 15.8

7.6

 21.3

 17.0

Second job

 42.0

 42.0

6.7

 15.2

 16.9

 10.7

6.5

6.5

 27.9

 25.5

Single jobholders

 26.9

 34.3

 22.5

 25.2

 26.2

 19.0

8.4

 9.2

 16.0

 12.3

N Not available or not comparable.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), 2014 Panel, Wave 1.

N

Other, includes health 

condition, job-sharing, 

and on vacation

Full-time work week

is less than 35 hours

Could not find full-time job, 

includes slack work or 

material shortage

In school or taking care of

 children or other person

Wanted to work part-time
U.S. Census Bureau 5

follows the school calendar, then 

they may work reduced hours 

over the summer months allowing 

them to find additional jobs.16

SIPP data allow us to look at the 

seasonality of jobholding and analyze when workers are most likely 

to hold a second job throughout 

the year. The data include detailed 

information on start and end dates 

for each job held. Figure 3 shows 

monthly transitions in jobholding 

among multiple jobholders with 

two jobs in 2013. The stock was 

the number of respondents with 

multiple jobs where both jobs 

began before that month. The 

16 In SIPP, there are multiple ways for 

respondents to describe time away from 

a particular job. They can enter up to two 

spells of a single job, they can report a spell 

of away without pay, or they can report 

up to two changes in job hours. This flexibility allowed workers to report complex 

schedules and seasonality in their job. In 

particular, education-related workers used 

a mixture of these methods, as needed, to 

detail their jobs. 

flow-in is the number of respondents that began an additional job 

that month—essentially, the number of respondents who became 

multiple jobholders. The flow-out 

is the number of respondents 

who ended one of their two jobs 

in that month, becoming a single 

jobholder. Finally, total is the total 

number of multiple jobholders in 

the month—the stock, plus the 

flow-in, minus the flow-out.

From Figure 3, we see that the 

number of respondents with two 

multiple jobs was mostly stable 

throughout the year, ranging 

between 7.6 million and 8.2 million. In addition, the flow-in and 

flow-out of multiple jobholders 

remained relatively low. This stability indicates that the majority of 

multiple jobholders held at least 

two jobs for the entire year. There 

was some movement in late spring 

and summer. For example, in May 

around 800,000 workers began a 

second job. However, there was 

also a loss of about 600,000 second jobs in the same month. The 

total increase of second jobs that 

month was around 200,000. In 

July, 630,000 respondents began 

their second job while 680,000 

respondents ended their second 

job.17

Workers were most likely to 

adjust their jobholding in the end 

of spring and the end of summer. In addition to the summer 

months, we see some movement 

in October. Around 630,000 workers began working a second job. 

This was likely connected with the 

beginning of the holiday season 

when demand for workers is high 

and it’s easier to pick up additional work. 

17 The number of respondents who 

began a second job (630,000) is not statistically different from the number of respondents who ended a second job (680,000).

Figure 3. 

Number of Respondents With Two Jobs by Month: 2013

Note: There is a known seam-bias in January that inflates the flow in for that month. In order to reduce the known seam-bias, any job beginning in 

week 1 of January was counted as beginning before the reference year. Similarly, there is a known seam-bias in December that inflates the flow out 

for that month. In order to reduce this seam-bias, we counted any job ending in week 52 as ending after the reference year. 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), 2014 Panel, Wave 1.

Stock—

Multiple jobholding 

began before month 

Total multiple jobholders

(In millions)

–1

1

3

5

7

9

Jan Feb Mar April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

Flow in—

Began multiple jobholding 

Flow out—

Ended multiple jobholding 

Figure 3. 

Number of Respondents (in 100,000) With Two Multiple Jobs, by Month: 2013

Total multiple jobholders

(In 100,000)

Flow in—Began multiple jobholding Flow out—Ended multiple jobholding

0
6 U.S. Census Bureau

INDUSTRY AND OCCUPATION

Comparing the type of jobs held 

by single and multiple jobholders 

can help explain the seasonality of multiple jobholding seen in 

Figure 3. Together, industry and 

occupation specify the type of 

job. Industry describes the kind 

of business conducted by the 

worker’s employer and occupation specifies the type of work 

done on the job.18 Figure 4 shows 

the distribution of multiple and 

single jobholders across industry 

of the main job. For both men 

and women, multiple jobholders 

were concentrated in the educational services and healthcare 

and social assistance industry. 

This industry includes employers 

such as schools, colleges, doctors’ 

offices, nursing care facilities, and 

child day care services. Due to 

18 Industry codes and titles are based on 

the 2012 Census Industry Code List, while 

the occupation titles and codes are based 

on the 2010 Census Occupation Code List. 

For more information on industry and occupation, visit <www.census.gov/topics

/employment/industry-occupation.html>. 

the school year calendar, changes 

in jobholding within this industry 

would have more likely occurred 

over the summer as opposed to 

the holiday season. 

Multiple jobholding women also 

worked in arts, entertainment, 

and recreation, and accommodation and food services and retail 

trade. Men holding multiple jobs 

were also likely to work in those 

industries, as well as professional, 

scientific, and management, and 

administrative and waste management services. While educational services and healthcare 

and social assistance was also the 

Figure 4. 

Distribution of Multiple and Single Jobholders Across Industry of the Main Job by Sex: 2013

N Not available or not comparable.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), 2014 Panel, Wave 1.

Men

Multiple 

jobholders

Single

jobholders

Multiple 

jobholders

Single

jobholders

Women

 10.3

 9.5

 13.3

 10.9

 13.9

 10.8

 5.7

 4.1

 4.6

 3.1

 7.4

 3.4

 2.2

0.8

 35.0

 11.0

 11.1

 11.9

 6.4

0.9

 7.0

 5.3

 4.1

1.1

 2.5

1.7

1.9

N

 40.4

 13.8

 8.1

 12.5

N

N

 4.6

 5.4

 3.9

N

N

N

N

N

(In percent)

 16.7

 13.8

 12.3

 10.9

 8.2

 6.6

 5.1

 4.9

 6.5

 3.9

 4.5

N

N

Military N

Information

Wholesale trade

Transportation and warehousing,

and utilities

Agriculture, forestry, fishing

 and hunting, and mining

Public administration

Other services, except

 public administration

Finance and insurance, and real estate

 and rental and leasing

Construction

Manufacturing

Retail trade

Professional, scientific, and management,

 and administrative and waste

 management services

Arts, entertainment, and recreation,

and accommodation and food services

Educational services, and health care

 and social assistance
U.S. Census Bureau 7

top industry for single jobholding 

women, it was not for men. For 

single jobholding men, manufacturing, and professional, scientific, 

and management, and administrative and waste management services were the top two industries. 

Figure 5 displays the distribution 

of multiple and single jobholders 

across occupation of the main 

job. Among women, multiple and 

single jobholders were concentrated in the same occupations. 

Among the top occupations were 

office and administrative support, 

sales and related occupations, and 

education, training, and library 

occupations. While both single 

and multiple jobholding women 

were likely to hold jobs in these 

occupations, there was a significant difference between them. 

Of women with only one job, 18.0 

percent were employed in office 

and administrative support compared with 14.5 of women with 

multiple jobs. Conversely, 9.3 percent of single jobholding women 

worked in education, training, 

and library occupations compared with 13.4 percent of multiple jobholders. This finding that 

multiple jobholding women were 

more likely to work in educationrelated occupations is in line with 

the seasonality of multiple jobholding since these occupations 

are more likely to change with the 

summer season as teachers’ and 

related workers’ schedules alter 

for summer.

Among men, multiple jobholders 

were concentrated in management 

and sales and related occupations, 

with about 10 percent in each. 

Single jobholding men were also 

likely to work in these occupations, as well as construction and 

Figure 5. 

Distribution of Multiple and Single Jobholders Across Occupation of the Main Job by Sex: 2013

N Not available or not comparable.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), 2014 Panel, Wave 1.

(In percent)

 8.8

 11.8

 6.7

 9.3

N

 18.0

 3.4

 1.2

 6.0

 2.1

 3.3

 8.3

0.4

 1.0

0.5

 1.1

 6.3

 1.8

 2.4

 0.6

N

 0.9

 1.3

 4.4

 5.6

 11.9

 9.6

 13.4

N

 14.5

N

N

 4.4

 4.0

N

 9.5

N

N

N

N

 7.5

N

N

N

N

N

N

 4.5

 10.9

 10.2

 6.9

 6.5

 5.7

 5.1

 4.7

 4.4

 4.3

 4.3

 4.2

 4.2

 4.0

 3.9

N

N

N

N

N

N

N

N

N

N

 11.7

 9.6

 5.1

 2.7

 9.5

 6.4

 8.0

 2.9

 4.3

 2.2

 4.1

 2.4

 6.1

 5.8

 3.4

 4.0

 1.6

 4.3

 1.2

 1.3

0.8

 1.1

 1.0

0.5

Men

Multiple 

jobholders

Single

jobholders

Multiple 

jobholders

Single

jobholders

Women

Healthcare support

Legal

Life, physical, and social science

Military

Farming, fishing, and forestry

Community and social service

Computer and mathematical

Personal care and service

Material moving

Architecture and engineering

Transportation

Installation, maintenance, and repair

Healthcare practitioners and technical

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

Business and financial operations

Protective service

Production

Oce and administrative support

Construction and extraction

Education, training, and library

Food preparation and serving related

Sales and related

Management
8 U.S. Census Bureau

extraction and production occupations. A lower percentage of 

multiple jobholding men worked in 

construction and extraction occupations (5.7 percent compared 

with 9.5 percent of single jobholders) while a higher percentage 

worked in education, training, and 

library occupations (6.5 percent 

of multiple jobholding men compared with 2.7 percent of single 

jobholders). Multiple jobholding 

men working in these educationrelated occupations added to the 

summer increase in multiple jobholding seen in Figure 3.

Table 2 displays how the jobs held 

by a multiple jobholder compare 

between each multiple job for 

industry and occupation. Given 

Figure 4 and Figure 5, we know 

how the distribution of industry 

and occupation differed between 

jobholding types and now from 

Table 2 we see that, for the majority of multiple jobholders, the 

jobs held were similar.19 Multiple 

19 Table 2 shows the percentage of 

multiple jobholders who held more than 

one job in the same industry or occupation group. The industry and occupation 

groups used are shown in Figures 4 and 5, 

respectively.

jobholders were more likely than 

not to find additional work in their 

current line of work.20 This was 

especially true for men—around 

73.8 percent had their main and 

secondary jobs in the same industry and 75.1 percent had jobs in 

the same occupation. Among 

women, around 66 percent had 

jobs in the same industry and 69.3 

percent in the same occupation. 

These results indicate that compared with multiple jobholding 

men, multiple jobholding women 

were more likely to diversify jobs 

held. 

SUMMARY

In this brief, data from the recently 

released 2014 SIPP was used to 

examine multiple jobholders and 

answer four basic questions. First, 

what proportion of working men 

and women held multiple jobs 

and how many jobs do they hold? 

Second, how did multiple jobholding vary throughout the year? 

Third, how did multiple jobholders 

20 This was not true among multiple jobholding women with three to five jobs for 

whom the percentage of jobs in the same 

industry, 67.3 percent, is not statistically 

different from 50.0 percent.

balance their time across jobs and 

what factors motivate this decision? Finally, what types of jobs 

or businesses were held simultaneously? The percentage of multiple jobholders in 2013 was 8.3 

percent with women having had a 

higher rate than men, 8.8 percent compared with 8.0 percent, 

respectively. Also, 6.9 percent 

of multiple jobholders held more 

than two jobs. The most common 

schedule was to work full-time at 

the main job and part-time at their 

other job(s). Women were more 

likely than men to work part-time 

at all jobs, while men were more 

likely to work full-time at every 

job. Among multiple jobholding men and women, one of the 

reasons selected most often for 

working part-time was that they 

“wanted to work part-time.” 

Over the course of the calendar 

year, multiple jobholding did 

not vary widely–with only small 

changes in the late spring, summer, and late fall. Any seasonality 

was likely driven by the relatively 

high proportion of both multiple 

jobholding men and women in 

education-related industries and 

Table 2. 

Percentage of Multiple Jobholders Who Work in the Same Industry or Occupation by Number of 

Jobs Held and by Sex: 2013

Characteristic

Industry Occupation

Men Women Men Women

Percent

Margin of 

error1 (±) Percent

Margin of 

error1 (±) Percent

Margin of 

error1 (±) Percent

Margin of 

error1 (±)

Multiple jobholders. . . . . . 73.8 2.1 66.1 2.2 75.1 2.2 69.3 2.5

 2 jobs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73.8 2.2 66.0 2.3 75.3 2.2 68.9 2.6

 3 to 5 jobs. . . . . . . . . . . . 74.1 8.5 67.3 9.0 71.9 8.0 74.5 8.2

1

 The margin of error is a measure of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error in relation to the size of the estimate, the less 

reliable the estimate. This number, when added to or subtracted from the estimate, represents the 90 percent confidence interval.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), 2014 Panel, Wave 1.
U.S. Census Bureau 9

occupations. Finally, multiple 

jobholders held similar jobs with 

regards to both industry and 

occupation. These results coincide 

with data from the BLS that found 

the majority of multiple jobholders did so for economic reasons 

as opposed to enjoyment of the 

second job.21 Multiple jobholders 

find additional work where they 

already have experience and they 

are unlikely to make many job 

changes throughout the year. 

SOURCE AND ACCURACY 

Statistics from surveys are subject to sampling and nonsampling 

error. All comparisons presented 

in this report have taken sampling error into account and are 

significant at the 90 percent 

confidence level unless otherwise 

noted. This means the 90 percent 

confidence interval for the difference between the estimates being 

compared does not include zero. 

Nonsampling errors in surveys 

may be attributed to a variety of 

sources, such as how the survey 

was designed, how respondents 

interpret questions, how able and 

willing respondents are to provide correct answers, and how 

accurately the answers are coded 

and classified. To minimize these 

errors, the U.S. Census Bureau 

employs quality control procedures throughout the production 

process, including the overall 

design of surveys, wording of 

questions, review of the work of 

interviewers and coders, and the 

statistical review of reports. 

21 Hipple (2010).

Some estimates in this report have 

response rates below 70 percent. 

To see the nonresponse bias study 

for the 2014 SIPP, please visit 

<www.census.gov/programs

-surveys/sipp/tech-documentation/nonresponse-reports

/2014nonresponse-reports.html>. 

For further information on the 

source of the data and accuracy of 

the estimates including standard 

errors and confidence intervals, 

please see the 2014 Panel Source 

and Accuracy Statements at 

<www.census.gov/programs

-surveys/sipp/tech-documentation/source-accuracy-statements

/source-accuracy-statements

-2014.html> or contact Mahdi S. 

Sundukchi of the Census Bureau’s 

Demographic Statistical Methods 

Division at <mahdi.s.sundukchi

@census.gov>. 

Additional information on the SIPP 

can be found at the following Web 

sites: <www.census.gov/sipp/> 

(main SIPP Web site) and 

<www.census.gov/content/dam

/Census/programs-surveys/sipp

/methodology/2014-SIPP-Panel

-Users-Guide.pdf> (SIPP User’s 

Guide). 

SUGGESTED CITATION 

Beckhusen, Julia, “Multiple 

Jobholders in the United States: 

2013,” Current Population 

Reports, P70BR-163, U.S. Census 

Bureau, Washington, DC, 2019.

REFERENCES

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multiple motives and gender 

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2001, 33: 1391–1410.

Karen Smith Conway and Jean 

Kimmel, “Male labor supply 

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moonlight,” Labour Economics, 

1998, 5: 135–166.

Steven F. Hipple, “Multiple 

jobholding during the 2000s,” 

Monthly Labor Review, Bureau of 

Labor Statistics, 2010, 21–32.

Barry T. Hirsch, Muhammad M. 

Husain, and John V. Winters, “The 

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Christina H. Paxson and Nachum 

Sicherman, “The Dynamics of Dual 

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Paper No. 1915, IZA Institute of 

Labor Economics, 2006.

Robert Shishko and Bernard 

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