The following charts look at Australia’s full- and part-time employment data over the past 37 years. As you can see, there has been a notable shift in employment trends, with part-time work rising at the expense of full-time employment.
Approximately 11.9 million Australians are currently employed, which is the largest number on record. However, just 8.2 million of these workers (68.94%) are in full time employment, which is the lowest level on record.
By contrast, part-time employment growth has been both higher and more consistent than full-time employment growth over recent decades. It has risen to 3.7 million (31.06%): the highest it’s ever been. Women still make up the bulk of part-time employment, representing 69% of all part-time employees. However, this is a drop of 6% compared to two decades ago.
In short, it seems that the Australian jobs market is changing. If you prefer the flexibility of part-time employment, this is a good thing. If you prefer the stability and benefits of a full-time job however, things are looking a little bleaker compared to 20 years ago.
[Via Business Insider]
Comments
One response to “How Australia’s Workforce Is Changing”
If you want a little more analysis;
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=32964
Basically employment growth has been flat for the last two years, barely matching the increase in the workforce. The only thing keeping the official unemployment figure from getting worse is participation rates are declining – the most recent peak was in November 2010, and if the participation rate has stayed the same the unemployment rate would be 6.9% instead of 6%.
You can blame the bloody stupid idea that ‘the Budget has to balance!’ for that.