by Grant Schellenberg

This is the third in a series of Perception articles by Grant Schellenberg about employment. The first two were "Small-business jobs: Good work if you can get it?" (Vol. 17, No. 4) and "Benefits for part-time workers" (Vol. 18, No.1).

In past years, if you did your job well, got along with your boss and your co-workers, and were employed by a profitable firm, you could expect to keep your job for an indefinite period of time. Today this is often not the case. More and more people are employed in temporary jobs, including workers hired out by temporary-help agencies on short-term assignments as well as workers hired directly by firms on short-term contracts.

Critics worry that temporary employment undermines job security and stability. They foresee a growing segment of nomadic workers lacking secure salaries, benefits and pensions, continually moving from job to job and facing the prospect of unemployment. Supporters view temporary employment as a pathway to labour market flexibility, allowing firms to tailor their work forces to meet fluctuations in labour requirements and to screen new recruits before offering permanent positions. They also see temporary employment as a way for individuals to balance their work and non-work activities and to become entrepreneurs selling specialized skills and expertise.

With some relatively new data, including Statistics Canada's Survey on Work Arrangements (1991), we can take a closer look at alternative types of employment and try to assess these opposing views.

A Brief Profile of Temporary Workers

The Survey on Work Arrangements defines temporary jobs as those with specified end-dates of six months or less. Roughly 5 per cent of paid employees (525,000) in Canada work in such jobs, with men and women equally likely to do so. Only a small share of these jobs (7 per cent) are held by persons hired out through temporary-help agencies.

A large number of workers in temporary jobs are young: 34 per cent are aged 15 to 24, compared to only 18 per cent of workers in non-temporary jobs. However, temporary employment is not simply a youth phenomenon, since 49 per cent of workers are aged 25 to 44 and 17 per cent are aged 45 to 69. In terms of the kinds of jobs, temporary employment is most prevalent in construction, primary industries such as fishing and agriculture, public administration, personal services and community services.

Among temporary workers, many are employed only part-time: 34 per cent compared to 17 per cent among non-temporary workers. Even more striking is the rate of involuntary part-time employment. In 1991, 37 per cent of part-time workers in temporary jobs said they wanted a full-time position but couldn't find one. This was the case for 24 per cent of part-time workers in non-temporary jobs.

The Wages of Temporary Work

It is difficult to discuss whether temporary jobs of one type or another are good or bad in the space of a brief article. One way to categorize them is in terms of pay. Generally, the wages of temporary jobs are lower than those of non-temporary jobs. Average hourly wages for men in temporary jobs are $2.85 lower than those in non-temporary ones (see Table). This varies across occupations, with the greatest differences occurring in professional/managerial and sales/service occupations. The smallest differences between the wages of temporary and non-temporary work are in the construction trades, where the term of employment is often limited to completion of a particular project.

For women, these differences are similar, with average hourly wages in temporary jobs $1.99 less than those in non-temporary jobs. The greatest differences are in clerical and professional/managerial occupations, with a notable exception among women in teaching and health-related occupations. Women who hold temporary jobs in these fields do not report significantly different average wages than those in non-temporary positions.

The overall pattern of wage "penalties" associated with temporary employment becomes obvious when other factors that affect hourly wages, are taken into account, including age, education, unionization, industry and hours worked. On the whole, temporary workers are paid less. But it is also clear that some workers in temporary jobs fare better than others, and these are often members of a union. When temporary jobs are covered under a union contract or collective agreement, workers make, on average, $4.79 per hour more than their non-union counterparts. The gains in pay are significantly less among non-temporary jobs, where union workers make, on average, $2.76 more per hour than non-union workers. These circumstances, particularly the importance of unionization, apply similarly to both men and women.

In summary, temporary workers can secure relatively good wages in a number of ways. they may benefit through coverage under union contracts or collective agreements. They may get good wages in an occupation such as construction work, which to some degree is characterized by temporary employment and in which common practice protects temporary workers from having to accept lower wages. However, temporary workers who lack valued skills or are excluded from collective agreements are most likely to get lower pay.

Unions are in a difficult position with respect to temporary work. Certainly, they have a stake in opposing the creation of more temporary jobs and trying to preserve the quality of employment by keeping permanent employees on the job. And, union members want a least some assurance that they will have a job next week, next month and next year. Those who see a future where labour, like so many commodities in our society, will become disposable justify the need for temporary work. So perhaps it is naive to think that temporary work can be legislated out of existence. Such jobs are preferred by many workers and employers, and may serve a useful function in the labour market, by paving the way to more permanent work. For some people, what started as temporary work later became a permanent job.

Nevertheless, if temporary employment is to become a regular part of our economy, improvements must be made to the circumstances it imposes on workers. Including temporary jobs in union contracts and collective agreements is one way. Another is to recognize that temporary workers are likely to face sporadic spells of unemployment. They should not be penalized for this by the Unemployment Insurance program.

Grant Schellenberg is a researcher with the Centre for International Statistics at the CCSD.

Canadian Council on Social Development, 190 O'Connor Street, Suite 100, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 2R3