Surge in delivery drivers as cost of living crisis worsens

Young Aussies aren’t content with their salary – and many are making heaps more money outside of office hours.

Record numbers of Australians are turning to second jobs to make ends meet, with signs that even more could pick up extra work to pay the bills.

In the last month alone, Menulog has seen a 27% increase in applications to become a courier compared to this time last year.

There are now 1.1 million Australians working two or more jobs according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), an increase of 10.5 per cent in the past year.

Food services and accommodation is industry the fourth most common industry for second jobs. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dylan Coker

The number of Australians picking up a second job has skyrocketed since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic after already increasing in the decades before that according to Indeed economist Callum Pickering.

“As of the March quarter 6.6 per cent of Australians were working two or more jobs and that‘s well above the normal range of around five per cent that we saw throughout the first two decades of this century,” he said.

“So we‘re sort of well outside what is considered normal by historical standards and we suspect that it‘s likely the cost of living crisis that is prompting a lot of these decisions.”

Over the twelve months to the March quarter, inflation rose by 7.0 per cent with leaps in the cost of essentials like food (8.0 per cent).

Ashley Micallef, 28, took up side hustles delivering food with Door Dash and dog walking during the Covid-19 pandemic as a way to make extra money.

She began to pick up extra door dash shifts as a way to save for an overseas holiday to Japan, putting an extra $250 in the bank for 10-12 hours each week.

“It’s paying for most of it, to be honest, it’s definitely paid for my accommodation and my spending money, and maybe like half of my flight,” she said.

Ms Micallef said that she would have to use her savings or stress about money without her side hustles.

Since being made redundant from her managing role at a doggie daycare facility in Sydney’s west, the extra work has become a lifeline.

“I would have been stressed without it, it’s definitely paying the bills now,” she said.

Similarly, Karen Balzama picked up extra work on Menulog to help make ends meet.

“I was a childcare educator, that’s a Monday to Friday job, and I needed extra money for the bills,” she said.

“We were only open before and after school, so there’s only so many hours the job offers in a week and I did really need that extra money.”

She says that the money she earns from Menulog is better than what she was earning in her full-time job, allowing her to make the switch.

Ms Balzama says that her meal delivery job allows her to earn more money when she needs it.

“I’d say the hourly rate is better than what I was earning. Yes, in my job I was part-time, so I had sick pay and holiday pay, which I don‘t now,” she said.

“But I set my budget each month and then I drive to achieve that budget.”

“[Inflation] happened for a lot of essential goods and services, which are really difficult for people to reduce their consumption of, which has meant that for a lot of Australians out there, it‘s felt like we’ve had a bit of a pay cut over the past couple of years,” he said.

"Our incomes just don't go as far as they used to creating some really tough household budget pressures for a lot of Australians," Mr Pickering said.

The cost of living crisis is not the only driver of the second job boom, as employers are crying out for workers to fill vacant positions.

Between the incentives offered to new employees and the increase in ‘help wanted’ signs in shop windows, the demand for workers has given more Australians opportunities.

“There are a lot of jobs available, which means that if you want more hours, you can find more hours and that‘s helped to drive the rate of underemployment down to levels we haven’t seen in a good 15 years.”

Originally published as Surge in delivery drivers as cost of living crisis worsens