diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/extend/ENV/std.rb b/Library/Homebrew/extend/ENV/std.rb
index 8c2c2a6c10..26e6582098 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/extend/ENV/std.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/extend/ENV/std.rb
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ module Stdenv
   end
 
   def make_jobs
-    Homebrew::EnvConfig.make_jobs
+    Homebrew::EnvConfig.make_jobs.to_i
   end
 
   # This method does nothing in stdenv since there's no arg refurbishment