4102.0 - Australian Social Trends, 1994
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 27/05/1994
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Employment arrangements: Trends in part-time work
INDEX(a) OF TRENDS IN PART-TIME AND FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT (a) Base year 1973=100. Source: Labour Force Survey. Industry High growth in the service industries is one of the most often cited factors associated with the growth in demand for part-time workers. Part-time workers tend to be highly concentrated in the service industries, reflecting the cost advantages of part-time labour in these areas. In 1993, 79% of all part-time workers were employed in just 4 of the 12 major industry groupings and all of these were service industries: wholesale and retail trade (28%); community services (26%); recreation, personal and other services (14%); and finance, property and business services (10%). It is precisely these industries which have experienced the greatest employment growth over the last two decades. In 1973 manufacturing was the largest industry grouping in terms of employment, followed by wholesale and retail trade, community services, construction, and agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting. By 1993 the largest employer had become wholesale and retail trade, followed by community services. Manufacturing had slipped to third, while construction and agriculture were replaced as the fourth and fifth largest employers by finance, property and business services, and recreation, personal and other services. Although part-time employment growth was greatest in service industries such as wholesale and retail trade, community services etc., increases were recorded in all of the 12 major industrial categories. In construction the proportion increased almost four-fold between 1973 and 1993, from 4% to 16%, and in public administration the proportion almost trebled from 4% to 12%. In the service industries the increase in the proportion of people working part-time was largely due to employment growth in part-time work outstripping employment growth in full-time work. However, in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting; electricity, gas and water; manufacturing; construction; and communications, growth in part-time employment was accentuated by declines in full-time employment. The specific reasons for strong growth in part-time work vary according to the industry in question. Nevertheless, some of the more general developments likely to have had an effect in a number of areas include:
LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE PROFILES
Source: Labour Force Survey TRENDS IN PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY
Source: Labour Force Survey Occupation As might be expected given industry concentrations, part-time workers are also concentrated in a narrow range of occupations. In 1993, the proportion of part-time workers was above the average of 24% in 15 out of 52 occupation groups. These same occupation groups accounted for close to three-quarters of all part-time workers. The 15 largest occupation groups in terms of full-time employment accounted for about half of all full-time workers. Cleaners had the highest proportion of people working part-time at 63%. Other occupations with more than 50% working part-time in 1993 were miscellaneous salespersons (a group which includes bar attendants, waiters and waitresses), tellers, cashiers and ticket salespersons, and sales assistants. In 1993, sales assistants accounted for 14% of all part-time workers and was the largest occupation group in terms of the overall number of people working part-time. The next largest occupation group was miscellaneous labourers and related workers which accounted for 9% of all part-time workers. This group includes storemen, kitchenhands and hospital ward helpers. SELECTED OCCUPATIONS, 1993
Source: Labour Force Survey Demographic characteristics The majority of part-time workers (75% in 1993) are women and the increasing participation of women in the labour force has been one of the major factors on the supply side of the labour market associated with the increase in part-time employment. The female labour force participation rate increased 10 percentage points between 1973 and 1993, rising from 41% to 51%. Over 90% of the increase was due to an increase in participation in the part-time labour market. Increasingly women are combining work with family responsibilities and part-time work provides an important means of achieving this. In 1993 the incidence of part-time work was highest among married women at 47% compared to 35% for unmarried women. The incidence of part-time work among men in 1993 was 10%. Students are another important source of part-time labour and the increase in participation in education among 15-24 year olds, particularly through the 1980s, has been another important trend contributing to an increase in the supply of potential part-time workers (see Education - National summary tables). Participation in full-time education among 15-24 year olds increased from 25% to 38% between 1982 and 1992. Over the same period participation in the full-time labour force by 15-24 year olds declined, from 61% to 48%, while participation in the part-time labour force increased, from 11% to 21%. About 40% of the overall increase in participation in the part-time labour force between 1973 and 1993 was due to increased participation by 15-24 year olds, a large proportion of whom are students. One other group which requires special mention with respect to part-time work is older male workers, particularly those in retirement. Although men in the 55-64 year age range represented only a little over 3% of the total part-time labour force in 1993, 12% of those who were working, worked part-time, compared to 6% of men aged 25-54 years. This partly reflects the use of part-time work as a means of easing into retirement (see Early retirement among men). EDUCATION AND LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION OF 15-24 YEAR OLDS Source: Labour Force Survey; Survey of Transition from Education to Work. Part-time work and unemployment The fact that such a large proportion of the pool of people working or wishing to work part-time are married women and students impacts on the relationship between employment growth and unemployment. A number of researchers have argued that among these particular groups a large proportion are likely to have been outside the labour force prior to obtaining a job. Similarly, if married women or students lose their part-time jobs they are likely to leave the labour force, rather than enter the pool of unemployed for any extended period. In essence this means that many of the participants in the part-time labour market effectively bypass the unemployment pool upon entering or exiting the labour force. This has critical implications for the way in which job growth affects measured unemployment. As the mix of new jobs changes, with more jobs being part-time, the effect of overall job growth on measured unemployment is diminished. This partly explains why at the present time Australia has a high unemployment rate despite many years of high overall employment growth. Some support for this argument can be found in the fact that increases in part-time work have corresponded with increases in participation in the labour force by women, particularly married women, and students. Some support can also be found in the fact that in 1992, 67% of people outside the labour force who wanted to work said they would prefer a part-time job. Moreover, 64% of discouraged jobseekers i.e. people who had left the labour force because they could not find a job, also said they would prefer part-time work. At the same time only 14% of the people who were unemployed said they were looking for part-time rather than full-time work. Underemployment The majority of people working part-time do so by choice. Nevertheless, with the growth in unemployment in recent years the number of people working part-time who would prefer more hours has been increasing, as has the number of full-time workers forced to work part-time hours because of lack of work. Combined, these two groups of workers comprise the underemployed. In 1993, 580,000 people were underemployed, a slight decline from the previous year. The underemployment rate (underemployed expressed as a percentage of the labour force) was 7%. About 12% of the underemployed were full-time workers stood down or on short time because of insufficient work. The remainder, just over half a million, were part-time workers. Of these, 186,000 (36%) had actively looked for full-time work in the four weeks prior to the survey. The half million underemployed part-time workers represented 28% of all part-time workers in 1993. 62% of underemployed part-time workers were women compared to 75% of all part-time workers. The highest incidence of underemployment among male part-time workers was in the 25-34 years age group of whom 60% wanted to work more hours. The highest incidence of underemployment among women was 43% in the 20-24 years age group. Overall, 44% of male part-time workers were underemployed compared to 23% of female part-time workers. UNDEREMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATES Source: Labour Force Survey; Survey of Transition from Education to Work. TOTAL AND UNDEREMPLOYED PART-TIME WORKERS, AUGUST 1993
Source: Labour Force Survey Endnotes 1 See for example Lewis, H. (1990 ) Part-time Work: Trends and Issues and Gregory, R.G. (1990) Jobs and Gender: a Lego Approach to the Australian Labour Market Discussion Paper No. 244, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Australian National University.
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