Moonlighting trends and related policy issues in Canada and the United States

The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed Canada-United States cro ss-country comparison of moonlighting trends and to assess the possible und erlying causes of such trends. The statistics show that both countries have experienced strong increases in moonlighting rates for women, never-marrie d individuals, young persons, and service workers, while university-educate d persons consistently have maintained high rates. United States' moonlight ers remain more likely to combine a full-time job with a part-time job, whi le Canadians are increasingly becoming holders of multiple part-time jobs. We examine the degree to which changes in moonlighting rates are driven by labour force compositional effects, labour supply-side factors, and labour demand-side factors. Labour market policy recommendations are made with res pect to welfare-to-work transitions and child care, payroll taxes, and non- wage benefits.