Fixed Term Employees in Australia

A staff research paper by Matthew Waite and Lou Will, Fixed-term Employees in Australia: Incidence and Characteristics, presents an analysis of fixed-term employment in Australia.

Fixed-term employees account for a relatively small share of employed persons—3.3 per cent in 2000.

Fixed-term employees are a diverse group. They are employed in all industries and occupations. However, they are largely concentrated in Education (30 per cent of fixed-term employees in August 1998), Health and community services (18 per cent) and in the occupational category of Professionals (44 per cent). Just over 50 per cent worked in the public sector, in contrast with 26 per cent of ongoing employees.

The study is the latest in a series conducted by the Productivity Commission into non-traditional employment.