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It's arguable that people are actually choosing fewer hours by working part time. Part time work has shot up as a percentage of all work. In Australia it has g

by sien 10y ago

It's arguable that people are actually choosing fewer hours by working part time. Part time work has shot up as a percentage of all work. In Australia it has gone from 1/10 to 1/4 of work from 1966 to 2007. Most other countries are similar. AU numbers in the link. http://www.pc.gov.au/research/supporting/part-time-employment http://www.pc.gov.au/research/supporting/part-time-employmen... Before people point out that people would actually like to work more it's worth quoting the link that this goes both ways: "Since the early 1990s, 20-25 per cent of female part time workers and 30-35 per cent of male part time workers have indicated a preference to work more hours. At the same time, there is evidence to suggest that two full time workers want to move to part time work for every part time worker who wants to move to full time work."

loeber 10y ago
I would suspect that part-time work has shot up because traditional full-time roles have evaporated in many sectors, so people are trying to make ends meet by hustling several part-time gigs at once, or in short succession.
dugditches 10y ago
From the paper: '..over the last thirty years there has been an increase in involuntary part time employment.' 'There has been no sustained or substantial decrease in the level of involuntary part time employment among women since it increased during the recession of the early 1990s.' 'involuntary part time employment increased strongly during the economic recessions in the early 1980s and 1990s, as well as the economic slowdown in 2001.' Your paper was published in June 2008, before the '08 Crisis. Choosing to work Part-Time is a privilege. Companies use Part Time work to avoid paying benefits, leave, etc. Keeping employees in a sort of limbo to save costs.
- sien 10y ago
  For those who are not Australians it is important to note that in Australia there is universal health care independent of your employer. Also while benefits are not usually the same as for full time they are sometimes and even if not the same are not as different as they are in the US.

by sien 10y ago

loeber 10y ago

I would suspect that part-time work has shot up because traditional full-time roles have evaporated in many sectors, so people are trying to make ends meet by hustling several part-time gigs at once, or in short succession.

dugditches 10y ago

From the paper: '..over the last thirty years there has been an increase in involuntary part time employment.' 'There has been no sustained or substantial decrease in the level of involuntary part time employment among women since it increased during the recession of the early 1990s.' 'involuntary part time employment increased strongly during the economic recessions in the early 1980s and 1990s, as well as the economic slowdown in 2001.' Your paper was published in June 2008, before the '08 Crisis. Choosing to work Part-Time is a privilege. Companies use Part Time work to avoid paying benefits, leave, etc. Keeping employees in a sort of limbo to save costs.

sien 10y ago
For those who are not Australians it is important to note that in Australia there is universal health care independent of your employer. Also while benefits are not usually the same as for full time they are sometimes and even if not the same are not as different as they are in the US.