Polywork on the rise: 1 in 10 Argentines have at least two jobs

Polywork, defined as holding two or more jobs, has been growing in recent years. Recent data, however, shows that the phenomenon has intensified since President Javier Milei took office. 

A September report shows that just over 2 million people in Argentina have more than one job (around 10% of the economically active population). 

Over the past 8 years, the figure has gone from 8.7% of all employed in 2017 to 11.5% in 2025, the highest record along with 2024.

The rise of the gig economy tied to platforms like Uber and Rappi, added to the loss of purchasing power, are the main causes of this trend, which shows no signs of reversing. 

The data comes from an analysis carried out by the consulting firm C-P, in collaboration with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung foundation, based on official records from the INDEC statistics bureau. 

“The labor market has been undergoing a significant transformation in recent years, due to a decade of stagnation in the Argentine economy and the emergence of global phenomena like the gig economy,” the report said. 

Informal jobs and polywork as a feedback loop Economist and C-P head Federico Pastrana told the Herald that President Javier Milei’s economic model “adjusts through unemployment and informality,” meaning that both are rising. 

He added that while this is partly due to economic stagnation, it is also a consequence of a drop in income. 

Data from the INDEC statistics bureau shows that registered private-sector wages have fallen 7.8% under the current administration. For public-sector workers, the decline is 15.7%. 

Informality in salaried work, meanwhile, stands at 37.9% for the second quarter of this year. This figure is the highest in 18 years and is above the 10-year average of 34.6%. 

Pastrana explained that informality deepens the decline in purchasing power, as the wages paid in the informal sector “are much lower than those of formal employment,” especially for independent workers, adding that this correlates with an increase in multiple job-holding. 

“People have to work in more places to supplement those low incomes,” he said. 

Looking toward the future, the economist ruled out a significant change in the trend for this year. “Those trends are structural […] There will not be major changes until the economic program changes.”

A trend in the spotlight Eighty-one percent of polyworkers have two occupations, while the majority (63%) are heads of household. There are also more women (56%), while more than half are located in the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area (54%). 

Regarding age, polywork is more concentrated among workers in their peak labor years (35 to 49). Polywork also “grows as educational level increases,” reaching a peak among people with higher education degrees (42%). 

Another finding is that 54% are wage earners, with public sector employees standing out (24%). Polyworkers also labor 16% more hours than people with a single job. Forty-four percent of them are overworked, meaning they work more than 45 hours per week. 

The growth of ‘emerging’ polywork C-P consultancy firm divided polyworkers into two large groups: “traditional” and “emerging” (75% of new moonlighters over the last eight years are included in the latter category). 

The consultancy explained that “emergent” polyworkers are a product of the fall in purchasing power and the rise of platform work amid economic stagnation. 

This group (48% of all polyworkers) includes more men (60%) and people from a younger age range (around 35–49). They work an average of 49 hours per week. 

Within this group, however, there are also differences. On one hand, there are “white-collar” (37%) and “blue-collar” polyworkers (63%). The former workers have higher incomes, are predominantly female, and have high qualifications and more educational credentials. They work 45 hours per week on average and have less informality than the average. 

“Blue-collar” workers have a lower relative income, are predominantly male, and have lower qualifications and lower educational levels. They work 50 hours per week on average and have higher informality. They represented 53% of the total increase between 2017 and 2025. 

“Traditional” polyworkers, meanwhile, are located mainly in education, health, and domestic service sectors. They represent 52% of all people with more than one job, and their participation in the public sector is “particularly high.” 

Furthermore, there are more women (77%) and its members are older. They work an average of 36 hours per week (13 less than emerging polyworkers).

Credit cover image: Eduard Perez/Pexels.