Precarious jobs: A new typology of employment

Abstract

work—that is, employment situations that differ from the traditional model of a stable, full-time job. Under the standard employment model, a worker has one employer, works full year, full time on the employer’s premises, enjoys extensive statutory benefits and entitlements, and expects to be employed indefinitely ( ECC 1990; Schellenberg and Clark 1996; Vosko 1997). Work that differs from the standard is described in several different ways, ‘non-standard ’ and ‘contingent ’ being two commonly used terms. Non-standard is used widely in Canada (Krahn 1991, 1995), contingent in the United States (Polivka and Nardone 1989; Polivka 1996). Another approach is to consider dimensions of ‘precarious employment ’ in relation to a typology of total employment (Rodgers 1989; Fudge 1997; Vosko 2000). Many non-standard jobs may correspond to an employee’s life-cycle needs—such as combining part-time work with full-time education, or devoting more time to activities outside the workplace. Indeed, men’s and women’s differing reasons for part-time work and self-employment illustrate the importance of gender-based1 analysis of trends in non-standard work. For example, in 2002, 42 % of men compared with 25% of women worked part time because they were attending school, while 15 % of women and just 1% of men cited child-care responsibilities. These findings reflect differing care and education trade-offs for men and women (see also Vosko 2002). At the same time, slightly over one-quarter (27%) of part-timers were working part time because of poor business condi-tions or because they could not find full-time work. The 2000 Survey of Self-Employment also highlighted differences in self-employment patterns for men and women. Data indicated that 13 % of own-account