Related BLS programs | Related articles
December 2009, Vol. 132, No. 12
Multiple Jobholding in States in 2008
Jim Campbell
Jim Campbell is an economist in the Division of Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics. E-mail: Campbell.Jim@bls.gov
In 2008, 25 States experienced increases in their multiple jobholding rates from 2007, 22 States and the District of Columbia recorded decreases, and 3 States had no change.1 The national multiple jobholding rate remained unchanged in 2008, standing at 5.2 percent for the third consecutive year.
The largest over-the-year increases in multiple jobholding rates among the States were recorded in North Dakota (+1.1 percentage points), Idaho (+1.0 point), Massachusetts (+0.9 point), and Delaware (+0.8 point). Missouri and Montana experienced the largest decreases (-0.9 percentage point each), followed by Kansas (-0.8 point) and South Dakota and Washington (-0.7 point each).
Although the U.S. multiple jobholding rate in 2008 was the same as in both 2006 and 2007, it was 1.0 percentage point lower than in both 1995 and 1996, when it peaked at 6.2 percent.2 Compared with 1996, 44 States and the District of Columbia had lower multiple jobholding rates in 2008, while 4 States had higher rates, and 2 States had the same rates. The largest declines over this period occurred in Missouri (-3.7 percentage points) and Montana (-3.1 points). No State had an increase in its multiple jobholding rate greater than 0.4 percentage point over this 12-year span.
As in past years, the multiple jobholding rates for individual States varied considerably around the U.S. average in 2008. (See chart 1.) Overall, 27 States had higher multiple jobholding rates than the national average, 20 States and the District of Columbia had lower rates, and 3 States had the same rate. As in past years, northern States generally had higher rates than southern States.
This excerpt is from an article published in the December 2009 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. The full text of the article is available in Adobe Acrobat's Portable Document Format (PDF). See How to view a PDF file for more information.
Footnotes
1 Data come from the Current Population Survey, a survey of about 60,000 households selected to represent the U.S. population 16 years and older. The survey is conducted monthly by the Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Multiple jobholders are those persons who report in the reference week that they are wage or salary workers who hold two or more jobs, self-employed workers who also hold a wage or salary job, or unpaid family workers who also hold a wage or salary job.
2 Annual multiple jobholding data for States became available following the redesign of the Current Population Survey (CPS) in 1994.
Multiple jobholding in States in 2005.—Nov. 2006.
Multiple jobholding in States, 2006.—Sept. 2007.
Multiple jobholding in States, 2007.—Sept. 2008.
Within Monthly Labor Review Online:
Welcome | Current Issue | Index | Subscribe | Archives
Exit Monthly Labor Review Online:
BLS Home | Publications & Research Papers
