Aussies turn to second jobs, side hustles to offset cost of living pressures

Aussies can make an extra $10,000 a month without needing any more training or experience from a uni or TAFE. See how you can do it.

Australians “tight on money” are taking on second jobs to bring in extra cash, as cost of living pressures intensify.

They are also embracing “side hustles” — many from the comfort of their living rooms — which can be as lucrative as $10,000 a month.

The latest Australia Bureau of Statistics show almost one million Aussies (997,200) are working two jobs.

It comes on the back of the nation’s inflation rate rising to 7.8 per cent in 2022, its highest level since 1987.

Director of Australian recruitment firm Robert Half, Nicole Gorton, said there had been an increase in people looking for ways to boost their income – either by asking for a pay rise or considering a second job.

She cautioned those taking on extra work to understand the tax implications and manage their health and wellbeing

“Once you have taken on a second job, you need to be sure that you can give it your full attention, so one is not impacting the other,” Ms Gorton said.

Nicole Gorton, of Robert Half, says there has been an increase in Aussies looking for ways to boost their income.

Nearly half of the staff at SSP, which runs several hospitality outlets at Melbourne Airport, are hired on a part time or casual basis — and for most of them it is their second job.

“People are just tight on money and happy to pick up some extra cash,” SSP Australia assistant operations manager Lachlan Diamond said.

Meanwhile, there are 500 part time and casual positions available at Brisbane Airport, spokesman Pete Doherty said.

There are hundreds of roles at Brisbane Airport, including baggage handlers.

“What makes a casual or second job at Brisbane Airport particularly appealing is that as a 24/7 destination, people can pick-up shifts that fit in with their other work, family or study commitments,” he said.

“Currently there are roles available within the three airport hotels for food and beverage staff and housekeeping positions, with immediate starts available. Across the dozens of cafes and restaurants there are numerous positions on offer.

“Brisbane Airport also needs parking attendants, baggage handlers and ramp staff. Our security provider also has numerous security screening opportunities with training incentives on offer.”

Airtasker and Fiverr provide a platform for people to advertise for extra work outside their day job — be it in gardening, cleaning, ironing, administrative tasks or even graphic design.

Top paying tasks include painting and gardening, which can yield $600 and $500 a task respectively.

Domestic window cleaning and gutter cleaning also pays well, at close to $300 each job.

Lisa Fsadni has a fulltime job in childcare but turned to cleaning jobs as a second source of income. Picture: David Swift

Mum of three Lisa Fsandi, who works a fulltime childcare worker, has been making about $500 a week from two to 10 hours of cleaning jobs on Airtasker.

“The extra money helps. I’m going to keep it as a second job and get an ABN,” she said.

She started cleaning through the platform six months ago after only just “scraping by” as a single mum.

Fiverr community organiser Oliver Woolrych said software development, e-commerce marketing, social media ads management and artificial intelligence skill sets were in hot demand.

“Australians with these skills would certainly be wise to jump online to see how they can best utilise them,” Mr Woolrych said.

Erik Doung has taken up a second job as a bartender at Melbourne Airport to supplement his income. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Working two jobs and studying is a necessary juggle for Erik Duong as his living expenses mount.

Mr Duong, who hails from Vietnam, is studying a bachelor of business and works about 50 hours a week to make ends meet.

“Paying rent on my own and tuition fees – they are the biggest part of my budget – so I have to work a lot,” he said.

For 20 hours a week, the 23-year-old works as a bar assistant and food runner at a venue at Melbourne Airport, managed by hospitality company SSP Australia.

When his morning shift at the airport finishes, Mr Duong puts his waiter hat on at Vietnamese barbecue restaurant as a second job.

He said the trick to his success was staying focused on his end goal, which was finishing his studies.

WHERE YOU CAN GET A SECOND JOB

For those eager to rack up some extra hours, there are thousands of jobs — and many do not require any prior experience. Here are the main ones.

Bunnings

The hardware store regularly has full-time, casual and part-time roles available, Bunnings chief people officer Damian Zahra said.

There are about 220 jobs advertised, including about 50 casual or part-time.

Coles

There are nearly 1500 roles being advertised for the Coles Group, across its supermarket, liquor and petrol station outlets. Of those, more than 670 were for casual or part-time positions.

Kmart

Kmart is looking for casual retail team members for many of its stores nationally. There are also about 10 part-time duty manager roles dotted around the country.

Woolworths

On the WOW Careers page, there are 241 casual positions and 301 part-time roles.

They ranged from checkout operators, to qualified bakers, nightfall assistants and online personal shoppers across Woolworths Group’s retail outlets such as Woolworths and Big W.

Myer

The department store is looking for general team members for multiple stores across the country. A further 12 more specific roles have also been advertised.

Harvey Norman

There are more than 80 casual and part-time roles on offer at Harvey Norman, including cashiers, warehouse workers and technicians.

The Good Guys

There are more than 30 causal and part-time jobs being advertised at The Good Guys, across sales, operations and warehouse teams.

Endeavour Group (Dan Murphy’s, BWS etc)

There are more than 175 casual and part-time roles on offer across different arms of the company across the country.

Super Retail Group

Supercheap Auto, BCF, Rebel all fall under the Super Retail Group which needs retail team members across the country.

Airports

Brisbane Airport has about 500 part time and casual positions, Brisbane Airport spokesman Pete Doherty said.

Melbourne Airport also has many roles available.

SSP Australia, which runs hospitality outlets at the airport, is expecting to be hiring more staff for Easter and the next school holidays. About 50 per cent of its workforce is part time or casual.

Sporting Grounds

There are various casual and part-time roles advertised at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, The Gabba and Suncorp Stadium and VIPeople, which manages hospitality venues across various Sydney sporting grounds. Positions include casual event workers, kitchen and bar staff.

Originally published as Aussies turn to second jobs, side hustles to offset cost of living pressures