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More women taking on two jobs to pay the mortgage

Pay packets are failing to keep up with rising mortgage repayments, prompting an increase in the number of people pressured by circumstances to take on second jobs.

Pay packets are failing to keep up with rising mortgage repayments, prompting an increase in the number of people pressured by circumstances to take on second jobs. It is estimated that over 1.1 million UK workers have two or more jobs; a rise of almost five per cent in the last two years. However that rise doesn’t represent the true figure as the amount of two-job women has risen and the number of men doubling up in the workplace has actually dropped.

As real income has effectively dropped with wage rises failing to keep pace with inflation, there is concern that the number of people struggling to afford life's basics is increasing. Add that to rising mortgage repayments and that is why the average number of women working two jobs has risen from 605,000 in 2005 to 649,000 two years later. However, over the same period the number of men working two jobs has dropped from 462,000 to 456,000.

Government figures highlight that real household disposable income has fallen by 0.3 per cent during the first quarter of this year alone and figures for the second quarter are likely to show that figure increasing. The TUC is becoming increasingly worried about the toll this is taking on workers with their head of economics, Adam Lent, pointing out that; “The key factors promoting this are probably the rise in mortgage costs as well as the general price of inflation.”

“We are very concerned about this. The impact on the work/life balance can be intense.”

Many financial advisers are warning would-be buyers to compare mortgages very carefully in this time of uncertainty in the financial markets. Because of the poor performance of the US market, where property values have actually fallen, banks and building societies are becoming stricter with their lending criteria. As a result people who are not considered ‘mainstream’ borrowers such as the self-employed, those with variable incomes and especially those with poor credit histories will find it much harder to find a sympathetic lender willing to offer mortgages at anything other than premium rates.

As UK mortgages become more expensive even more people are expected to opt for a second job simply to make ends meet. It appears that second jobs no longer provide for luxuries such as holidays or the Christmas fund, but are being taken in order to help the family survive. Expect the figures of people holding two jobs to rise dramatically in line with the rise in the cost of living and mortgage repayments.