by Grant Schellenberg

For many people, part-time jobs are an attractive work option. They are a way to combine paid employment with other activities, such as family care, attending school or leisure pursuits. More and more, though, people are taking part-time jobs because they are unable to find full-time employment - they are "involuntary" part-time workers. This is a disturbing trend because it indicates that the labour market is increasingly unable to provide full-time jobs to all who want them. And as the financial well-being of people is largely shaped by their participation in the labour force participation, the economic security of a growing number of Canadians is eroding.

The rise in involuntary part-time employment

Between 1975 and 1994, the proportion of part-time employment in the labour force increased from 11 to 17 per cent. Not all the people in those jobs had taken them by choice, however. Those who wanted a full-time job but could not find one had increased from 11 to 35 per cent, and by 1994, 760,000 Canadians were involuntarily working in part-time positions. To some extent, that increase reflected fluctuations in the business cycle. Typically, during economic recessions, fewer full-time jobs are available and workers are forced to take part-time jobs as "better-than-nothing" alternatives. During economic upswings, more full-time jobs are created and the rate of involuntary part-time employment declines (see Nathalie Noreau, "Involuntary part-timers," Perspectives on Labour and Income, Statistics Canada, Autumn 1994). In Canada, however, there has been a marked increase in involuntary part-time employment independent of the business cycle. In spite of the economic recovery between 1985 and 1989, involuntary part-time employment did not return to the level it was prior to the 1981-82 recession (see Chart 1). Moreover, during the recession of 1991-92, the rate soared higher than it had during the previous downturn. In other words, in both the peaks and the troughs of the business cycle, there has been a significant increase. Today, in spite of signs that the labour market is beginning to recover from the most recent economic downturn, the number of people holding down part-time jobs when they would rather be working full-time remains high. And we have yet to see whether it will recede to what it was before 1991.

Involuntary part-time employment comes at a high cost to those compelled to take it. People in these jobs work about 20 to 25 fewer hours per week than their full-time counterparts, and their average hourly wages are lower. The combined result is that their average weekly earnings are several hundred dollars below those of full-time workers in similar occupations (see Chart 2). Over the course of the year, the accumulated loss of earnings can easily reach many thousands of dollars.

There are other economic disadvantages as well. Compared to full-time workers, involuntary part-timers are less likely to be unionized or to receive "fringe" benefits, such as employer-pensions, dental plans and medical insurance. They are also more likely to be employed on irregular schedules and on-call arrangements, and thus they face greater variability (and unpredictability) in their paychecks from week to week. This makes family budgeting and financial planning difficult and increases anxiety over making ends meet. So while taking involuntary part-time work may be better than having no work at all, it is not without drawbacks.

Who are the involuntary part-timers?

The economic "penalties" felt by involuntary part-timers are all the more consequential considering that 78 per cent are the adults or parents (in other words, not children) in their family, and of these, 40 per cent are the primary earner (that is, they contribute more than half of total family earnings). Involuntary part-timers also tend to be older than voluntary part-timers, and are less likely to have a spouse or partner who is employed full-time (see Table 1). At the same time, because of their marginal employment, the ability of these workers to provide financial security for their families is undermined.

Involuntary part-timers are three times more likely than full-time workers to live in families that fall below Statistics Canada's Low Income Cut-Offs, and almost twice as likely do so as voluntary part-timers. Looking from the opposite perspective, only 10 per cent of involuntary part-timers live in families with weekly earnings of $1,100 or more, compared to 31 per cent of full-timers and 21 per cent of voluntary part-timers. It is easy to see how the financial well-being of Canadians is being eroded by the scarcity of full-time jobs.

The capacity of the economy to provide full-time jobs to all who want them is on the wane. Unemployment rates remain persistently high, "non-standard" jobs such as part-time and temporary employment are on the rise, and economic growth is becoming increasingly less related to job creation. As noted in the CCSD's Canadian Fact Book on Poverty (1994): "the poor record of job creation and wages is... central to the question of why poverty has become so intractable in recent years." If these trends continue unabated, one might envisage an increasingly segmented Canadian labour market, comprised of those with full-time jobs and an adequate standard of living, and others on the margins of the labour force who are obliged to survive on less. To address this issue, the federal and provincial governments must renew their commitment to improving the quality and the quantity of jobs. Important first steps would be to put employment back on the political agenda, and to ensure that job creation and job quality are integral parts of any strategy to reduce the national deficit.

This the fourth in a series of Perception articles by Grant Schellenberg on employment. "The pros and cons of temporary employment" appeared in the November 1994 issue (Vol. 18, No.2).

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

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