#3 Is part-time work the new normal?

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/09/07/is_parttime_work_the_new_normal_goar.html

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Canadian labor market shows a sign of part-time employment. Since last autumn, Canada has created 50,000 part-time jobs but lost 20,000 full-time positions.

Doing a part-time job may has some negative impacts for labors. For example, they may not be offered the health insurance by the employers. So there is less work security. And part- time workers are always regarded as unemployed. They do not claim to government that they get jobs, however they are part-time. So government grants the unemployment welfare to them, and they do not need to pay taxation. Hence, there is a large withdraw in government budget balance.

On the other hand, the part- time jobs usually need low skill levels, so the work may be low productivity. With an 50,000 increase in part-time jobs but 20,000 decline in the full-time, the national total productivity might be pulled down.

However, it does have some positive aspects. As mentioned above, part-time jobs require low skills, and it is capable for most of workers. So it can release the unemployment pressure to some extent, while full-time jobs need high level of skills and knowledge. And in statistic, it does work, the unemployment rate does decline which shown on the picture.

according to the Statistics Canada:cg140905a002-eng
And what if retirees do the most of increased part-time jobs? They might be more productive and have more experience than freshmen. So the national productivity would increase and the market allocates resources more efficiently.

 

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news from:http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/09/07/is_parttime_work_the_new_normal_goar.html

chart: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/140905/dq140905a-eng.htm?HPA

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