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Article
August 2015

Multiple jobholding in states in 2014

Multiple-jobholding rates at the state and regional levels vary considerably from the national average.

In 2014, the multiple-jobholding rate1 (the percentage of individuals who hold more than one job) in individual states varied considerably from the national average of 4.9 percent, a rate that has been unchanged since 2010. (See figure 1 and table 1.) In all, 22 states had multiple-jobholding rates significantly higher than the national average, 11 states had significantly lower rates, and 17 states and the District of Columbia had rates that were not significantly different from the U.S. average.

Figure 1. Multiple-jobholding rates by state, annual averages, 2014
Table 1. Multiple jobholders as a percentage of total employment, by state, annual averages, 2013 and 2014
U.S. Census region and division2013 rate2014
RateError at 90-percent confidence levelSignificantly different from the U.S. rate

United States

4.94.9±0.1

Northeast region

4.85.0±0.3

New England division

6.06.2±0.5higher

Connecticut

5.65.9±0.8higher

Maine

8.68.0±1.0higher

Massachusetts

5.45.6±0.9

New Hampshire

5.96.8±0.7higher

Rhode Island

5.76.4±0.8higher

Vermont

8.88.5±1.0higher

Middle Atlantic division

4.34.5±0.3lower

New Jersey

4.34.0±0.6lower

New York

3.94.0±0.5lower

Pennsylvania

5.05.6±0.5higher

South region

4.34.2±0.2lower

South Atlantic division

4.34.2±0.3lower

Delaware

4.44.1±0.7lower

District of Columbia

4.74.3±0.6

Florida

3.43.3±0.4lower

Georgia

3.53.8±0.6lower

Maryland

6.15.6±0.7higher

North Carolina

4.94.6±0.7

South Carolina

4.33.7±0.7lower

Virginia

5.25.5±0.8

West Virginia

4.94.8±1.2

East South Central division

4.54.3±0.5lower

Alabama

3.73.9±1.0lower

Kentucky

5.34.8±1.1

Mississippi

4.34.2±1.1

Tennessee

4.54.4±0.9

West South Central division

4.14.0±0.4lower

Arkansas

4.03.6±0.8lower

Louisiana

4.94.3±0.9

Oklahoma

4.14.5±0.9

Texas

3.93.9±0.4lower

Midwest region

6.06.1±0.3higher

East North Central division

5.25.6±0.3higher

Illinois

4.85.3±0.6

Indiana

4.75.6±0.9

Michigan

4.74.5±0.7

Ohio

5.86.2±0.8higher

Wisconsin

6.36.7±1.0higher

West North Central division

7.57.2±0.4higher

Iowa

7.68.2±1.0higher

Kansas

7.56.6±0.9higher

Minnesota

8.07.7±0.9higher

Missouri

6.55.9±1.0higher

Nebraska

7.98.4±0.9higher

North Dakota

7.97.5±1.2higher

South Dakota

8.98.7±1.1higher

West region

4.84.8±0.2

Mountain division

5.45.4±0.4higher

Arizona

4.94.2±0.9

Colorado

6.26.3±1.0higher

Idaho

6.16.9±1.2higher

Montana

6.97.8±1.3higher

Nevada

4.24.1±0.8lower

New Mexico

4.14.9±1.1

Utah

6.05.7±1.0

Wyoming

6.66.3±1.1higher

Pacific division

4.64.5±0.2lower

Alaska

6.77.4±1.5higher

California

4.14.1±0.3lower

Hawaii

5.86.0±0.8higher

Oregon

6.25.7±0.9

Washington

5.95.1±0.7

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Multiple-jobholding rates tended to vary by region. As in past years, northern states generally had higher rates than southern states. All states in the West North Central Census division and all but one of the states in the New England division had multiple-jobholding rates significantly higher than the U.S. average. Seven of the eleven states with multiple-jobholding rates significantly below the national average were located in the South region.2

Most of the states with high multiple-jobholding rates in 2014 have had consistently high rates since estimates first became available in 1994. South Dakota recorded the highest multiple-jobholding rate of any state, 8.7 percent. Vermont and Nebraska followed with rates of 8.5 percent and 8.4 percent, respectively. Six other states had multiple-jobholding rates above 7.0 percent.

Florida had the lowest multiple-jobholding rate of any state in 2014, 3.3 percent. Five other states recorded rates below 4.0 percent. New Hampshire had the only statistically significant change in its multiple-jobholding rate from 2013 (+0.9 percentage point).

The U.S. multiple-jobholding rate has declined by 1.3 percentage points since peaking at 6.2 percent in 1995 and 1996. Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia had lower multiple-jobholding rates in 2014 than in 1996. The remaining two states had rates that were the same or only marginally higher over that 18-year span. The largest declines from 1996 to 2014 occurred in Arkansas (-3.5 percentage points), Hawaii (-3.4 points), Wisconsin and Wyoming (-3.2 points each), and Missouri (-3.1 points).

Suggested citation:

Susan Campolongo, "Multiple jobholding in states in 2014," Monthly Labor Review, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 2015, https://doi.org/10.21916/mlr.2015.31

Notes


1 Data for this report are derived from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a survey of about 60,000 households selected to represent the U.S. population age 16 years and older. The survey is conducted monthly by the Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Multiple jobholders are those people who report, in the reference week of the survey, 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 The South region is composed of the East South Central, South Atlantic, and West South Central divisions.

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About the Author

Susan Campolongo
campolongo.susan@bls.gov

Susan Campolongo is an economist in the Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, Division of Local Area Unemployment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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