Labour Market Insecurity and Second Job-Holding in Europe

Abstract

The recent labour market trends reveal an increase of job insecurity across Europe, with more short-term jobs currently available in the labour market, and lengthier spells of joblessness. The need on behalf of individuals to seek for alternative ways of ensuring employment security and a continuous income stream becomes paramount. This paper explores whether second job-holding can be viewed as a hedging strategy against income and employment uncertainty. The results, using the EU-LFS, provide supporting evidence, suggesting that both the incidence and intensity of dual job-holding increases as labour markets become more volatile and precarious jobs more prevalent.

Keywords: Multiple job holding, labour market insecurity, precarious employment, unemployment

JEL Classification: J22, J60