diff --git a/meta/conf/bitbake.conf b/meta/conf/bitbake.conf
index dcf20078831..2fe7bef978c 100644
--- a/meta/conf/bitbake.conf
+++ b/meta/conf/bitbake.conf
@@ -789,7 +789,7 @@ CACHE := "${CACHE}"
 BB_NUMBER_THREADS ?= "${@oe.utils.cpu_count()}"
 
 # Default to setting automatically based on cpu count
-PARALLEL_MAKE ?= "-j ${@oe.utils.cpu_count()}"
+PARALLEL_MAKE ?= "-j ${@oe.utils.cpu_count()} -l ${@oe.utils.cpu_count()}"
 
 ##################################################################
 # Magic Cookie for SANITY CHECK