Iraqi employees turn to second jobs to survive
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Every afternoon in Baghdad, government worker Amir Ahmed clocks out of his ministry job, changes clothes in his car, and turns on a taxi-hailing app — starting a second shift to make ends meet.
Ahmed explained that his government salary barely covers essential expenses such as utilities and school fees. “Even with the extra work I do, I am forced to borrow money if salaries are delayed by just two or three days, because of the family’s constant expenses,” he told Shafaq News.
It has become common in Iraq for employees to take second jobs in shops, private companies, and offices. The phenomenon also extends to women, many of whom take on side work, sometimes from within their homes.
The trend highlights both a deep economic crisis and flaws in Iraq’s salary scale, which no longer matches inflation and the soaring cost of living. Experts warn that the situation is creating wider social and economic problems.
Over 61 percent of the population is under 30 — nearly 28.7 million people in a country of 47 million — yet youth unemployment has exceeded 36 percent, while young women face rates above 65 percent, according to ILO data. Each year, about 700,000 young Iraqis enter the labor force, but the state can no longer absorb them, and the private sector remains too weak to fill the gap.
Economist Ahmed Abdul Rabbo explained to Shafaq News, “The income of employees does not keep pace with rising daily expenses, showing the fragility of the economic system in providing adequate pay for the effort put into government post.”
He stressed that the solution is not to ban second professions but to reform the salary system and strengthen the private sector so it can absorb young workers instead of competing with government employees for the same opportunities.
Iraq’s salary system is based on official pay scales, education level, job grade, family allowances, and, in some institutions, incentives and overtime hours. However, these measures fail to protect most employees, who still receive meager incomes from the total of these administrative mechanisms.
Psychologist Manahil al-Saleh told Shafaq News that working two jobs leaves employees with little time for their families. The pressure weakens their ability to communicate with children and spouses. They cannot provide the emotional and psychological support their families need.
