The role of non-traditional work in the Australian labour market
The role of non-traditional work in the Australian labour marketCommission research paper
This commission research paper was released on 25 May 2006.
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The Role of Non-Traditional Work in the Australian Labour Market (ZIP 1006.7 KB)Around 3.3 million people were engaged in 'non-traditional' work in 2004, representing approximately one third of all employed people. Overall, this number had grown since 1998, but non-traditional work's share of the total workforce remained largely unchanged.
- Casual employment is the largest non-traditional form of employment (1.9 million in 2004 or 20 per cent of all employed persons). Growth was rapid between 1998 and 2001, but has slowed since, resulting in a stable share of the employed population.
- Self-employed contractors (0.8 million in 2004), fixed-term employees (0.6 million) and labour hire employees (0.3 million) are less common forms of non-traditional work. Their total number grew between 1998 and 2001, but has subsequently levelled off. Their combined share of the total workforce fell between 2001 and 2004.
There are significant differences between non-traditional workers:
- Some, like fixed-term employees, closely resemble ongoing employees in many respects, such as education and skills. Casuals, by contrast, are typically less skilled.
- Fixed-term employees, and students and mothers employed as casuals, mostly declare themselves to be satisfied with their employment circumstances. Prime working age males, a small proportion of all casual employees, are often recorded as less satisfied.
Non-traditional work is mostly a temporary or transitory experience, except for a few groups of casual employees, such as women with children. For many people who are not currently employed, non-traditional work provides a means of gaining employment and a stepping stone to ongoing employment.
- There is merit in encouraging those outside the labour force to seek non-traditional work, if they cannot obtain ongoing work. However, particular attention should be paid to 'at risk' groups, so that they do not revert to unemployment or exit the labour force.
For one in four families, non-traditional work is the main source of wage income. Such families are found in all income deciles, indicating that reliance on non traditional work for wage income is not synonymous with low family income.
- Families which receive most of their wage income from non-traditional work tend to be less reliant on wage income than other families. Their income is supplemented by government transfers (lowest two deciles) or non-government, non-wage income (other deciles). This suggests that any wage differentials between traditional and non-traditional workers are only partly reflected in total income differences between their families.
Whether non-traditional work is associated with lower worker wellbeing needs to be assessed in relation to the personal circumstances of individuals in particular socio demographic groups, and over the course of time.
