Executive
summary
The use of casual employment increased substantially in
Australia during the 1980s through to the mid-1990s before growing more
moderately over the next two and a half decades.[1]
The casual employee share of total employees remained relatively stable at
around 25 per cent during the period between the mid-1990s and 2019 which
indicates more balanced growth in both casual and permanent employment. This
situation changed dramatically following the imposition of trading restrictions
to limit the spread of COVID-19 in March 2020. The data shows casual employees
were far more likely than permanent employees to lose their job following the
lockdowns.
Despite strong growth in casual employment following the
easing of restrictions in the middle of 2020, the number of casual employees
had still not recovered to pre-COVID levels by May 2021. This situation has
been exacerbated in the three months since by lockdowns imposed in New South
Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
Part of the reason for greater job loss for casual employees
was the restricted eligibility criteria for the JobKeeper Payment to workers
that had been with their employer for 12 months or more. A much
bigger percentage of casual workers had been with their current employer for
less than 12 months compared with permanent employees. This group may have
applied for the JobSeeker Payment or may have decided to leave the labour force
when businesses closed. In contrast workers receiving the JobKeeper Payment
would have maintained attachment to their employer and been recorded as
employed in the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Labour Force survey. This
outcome was compounded by casual workers being more likely to be employed in
service industries whose activities were adversely affected by the shutdown
such as Accommodation and food services, Retail trade and Arts and recreation
services.
In terms of demographic trends, the casual share of total
female employees has been gradually falling over the past thirty years—due in
part to stronger growth in permanent part-time employment for women compared
with growth in casual part-time employment. In contrast, the prevalence of male
casual employment has been gradually increasing due to the combination of increasing
casualisation of traditional industries in which men are more likely to work
(such as Construction and Manufacturing) and increasing numbers of men working
in service industries which are characterised by casual work.
Major longer term statistical
findings
Full-time permanent employment—which is sometimes referred
to as ‘standard’ employment—fell from a 70.4% share of total employment in
August 1992 to 61.7% in August 2021. By comparison the permanent part-time
employee share of total employment almost doubled from 8.2% in 1992 to 15.8% in
2021.
- In August 2021 there were just under 2.4 million casual employees
working in Australia who accounted for 22.5% of all employees. The casual share
was as high as 25.5% in both 2003 and 2004 and as low as 21.5% in August 1992.
- The casual share of total employees for females fell gradually
from 30.4% in August 1992 to 26.0% in August 2019, and then fell further to
24.2% in 2021. In contrast the casual share of total male employees increased
steadily from 14.0% in August 1992 to 22.5% in August 2019 but fell to 20.9% in
August 2021.
- Job instability is much more prevalent among part-time casual
workers. The data for August 2020 shows around 68.7% of casual part-time
workers were not guaranteed a minimum number of hours per week, 43.8% per cent
reported variable hours of work (i.e. they did not usually work the same number
of hours each week) and 58.9% reported variable earnings in different pay
periods.
- Female partners and dependent students together accounted for 43.9%
of all casual employees in August 2020. While men in partnered relationships
are less likely to be casual employees (12.5% of all male employees) they
accounted for a sizeable share of all casual employees (18.7%).
- Together Retail trade, Accommodation and food services and Health
care and social assistance accounted for just under a half (48.6%) of all
casual employees in August 2020.
- Average earnings for all casual employees tend to be less than
the average for all permanent employees, however, this is in part due to casual
employees being more likely to be younger and less skilled than their permanent
employee counterparts.
Impact
of Covid-19
- The number of casual employees fell by 540,400 (or 20.6%) between
February 2020 and May 2020. This compares with a fall of 215,300 permanent
employees (or 2.6%).
- Despite growth in casual employment since May 2020 the level
recorded in August 2021 was still 199,000 (or 7.6%) below the level recorded in
February 2020. In contrast the number of permanent employees in August 2021 was
66,900 (or 0.8%) above the level of permanent employees recorded in February
2020.
- Casual employees accounted for 15.1% of all hours worked by
employees in the economy in August 2021—down from 17.0% in February 2020 and
18.5% in November 2017.
- Hours worked by casual employees fell by 27.6% in the three
months to May 2020 compared with the three months to February 2020. By
comparison hours worked by permanent employees fell by 6.1%. And more recently,
total hours worked by casual employees fell by 14.2% in the three months to
August 2021 compared with the previous three months, whereas hours worked
recorded by permanent employees fell by 3.1%.
Introduction
The Australian labour market and economy
has undergone substantial structural and demographic change over the past 40
years, including the emergence and strong growth of a range of service
industries and the relative decline in demand for labour among more traditional
male-dominated industries such as Manufacturing and Agriculture. This change
has driven employer demand for different occupational skills and more flexible
forms of employment to produce the goods and services demanded by consumers.
The emergence of various non-standard forms of employment in
Australia has provided opportunities for people to find work—particularly those
on the margins of the labour market—but has also presented challenges in terms
of providing less security of employment and variability in earnings, along
with the lack of access to paid leave entitlements that many workers previously
took for granted.
This paper examines trends in use of casual employment in
Australia over the longer-term and following the lockdowns imposed in March
2020 to limit the spread of COVID-19. It also compares conditions of employment
confronting casual workers compared with their permanent employee counterparts.
A separate paper will be released on trends in the use of labour hire workers,
employees on fixed-term contracts and independent contractors after new
estimates for August 2021 are released in December 2021.
What
has been driving change in more flexible forms of employment?
As part of Australia’s transition to a more service-based
economy, there have been significant demographic developments, including very
strong growth in the labour force participation of women and students—many of
whom are seeking part-time hours of work. This shift in labour supply has
stimulated strong growth in part-time permanent and part-time casual
employment, and other forms of non-standard forms of employment.
Employers have been using more flexible employment options
such as the use of part-time shift workers, independent contractors, labour
hire employees and employees on fixed-term contracts to respond to peaks and troughs
in demand.[2]
Shifts in employer and employee preferences has contributed to a decline in the
‘standard’ or permanent full-time employee share of total employment. This
trend reflects the changing demographic profile of the labour market—away from
the typical single-income male breadwinner head of family households in the
decades immediately following World War II—to a diverse range of household
types including dual income earners, single parents, childless couples and
single person households.
This demographic shift has contributed to a much more varied
and diverse workforce. Younger people are more likely to be studying longer to
gain post-secondary qualifications which has contributed to a bigger share of
this group working part-time rather than full-time hours. Around 56.0% of
people aged 15 to 24 years were engaged in full-time education in September
2021 which compares with 31.7% in September 1986.[3] Furthermore, around 55.1% of
employed people aged 15 to 24 years were working part-time hours in September
2021 compared with 20.9% in September 1986.[4]
Changing dynamics of the labour market has seen people shift
between different forms of employment as their circumstances change over their
life cycle. For example, most students successfully shift from casual part-time
work while they are studying, to engaging in permanent full-time or permanent
part-time work more closely aligned with the qualifications they have attained:
The 2019 Graduate Outcomes
Survey-Longitudinal (GOS-L) shows that graduates do succeed over time with many
more graduates in work three years after graduation. In 2016, 72.6 per cent of
graduates were in full-time employment immediately upon graduation. Three years
later in 2019, 90.1 per cent of the same cohort of graduates had found
full-time work.[5]
The introduction of the universal Paid Parental Leave scheme
(which became operational in January 2011[6]),
subsidised childcare and a diverse range of flexible employment options over
many decades has encouraged more women to enter and remain in the workforce.
The labour force participation rate for women aged 25 to 40 years was
noticeably lower than rates for women in younger and older age groups in the
late 1970s as women had a greater tendency to exit the labour force to have and
care for children. But the participation rate for women in this age group today
is now very similar to those aged 20 to 24 years and only slightly below the
rate recorded for those aged 40 to 50 years.[7]
Women are more likely to change the number of hours they
work as they progress through the life cycle. Women tend to transition from
part-time hours while studying to full-time hours immediately upon attaining
educational qualifications. Women are more likely to seek less hours of work if
they have children and become engaged in child caring responsibilities and then
seek more hours as caring responsibilities diminish. In the final ten years of
their working life women are more likely to seek less hours of work as they
approach retirement. These social trends are reflected in different labour
force participation rates of women over the life cycle.[8]
The greater availability of affordable childcare and paid
parental leave has helped employment rates rise significantly over time for
women in the major child-bearing and caring years. For example, the employment
to population ratio for women aged 25 to 34 years has increased from 47% in
June 1978 to just under 77% in June 2021.[9]
A more flexible labour market and the introduction of more
flexible working arrangements by employers has facilitated much greater labour
force participation of women than 20 or 30 years ago.[10] Employers also benefit from
being able to attract and retain employees by offering flexible working
arrangements. Just over 72% of women aged 15 to 64 years were working in June
2021 which compares with just over 46% in June 1978. In contrast the employment
to population ratio for men in this age group fell slightly from just over 82%
to just over 79% in the same time interval.[11]
Similarly, students are seeking to combine part-time work
with their study commitments to support them financially. Just over 48% of
full-time students aged 15 to 24 years were working in June 2021 which compares
with 27% in June 1986.[12]
The concept of the standard employment relationship is
generally understood to be:
… a situation where an
employee has one employer; works in a permanent, year-round full-time position;
enjoys extensive statutory benefits and entitlements; and expects to be
employed indefinitely. Any work arrangement that differs from this definition
is referred to as “non-standard” (also known as “atypical employment”).[13]
The Centre for Future of Work have highlighted the decline
in standard employment as a share of total employment in a report on insecure
work. The authors consider this trend has eroded the quality and stability of
employment more generally.
The security of work has been
“chipped away” on many sides by several distinct but reinforcing trends in
Australia’s labour market. Together, these trends have caused a
multidimensional erosion in the quality and stability of employment.
… their combined impact is
visible in the shrinking proportion of workers who are employed within a
traditional “standard” employment relationship: namely, a permanent paid job
with normal entitlements (to paid leave, superannuation, and other standard
employment-related benefits).[14]
The researchers included increasing part-time employment as
one of the drivers of insecure work along with increasing casualisation and
growth in self-employment. However, growth in part-time employment has
facilitated greater labour force participation of women and young people that
are studying. It is unlikely that the old world of predominantly full-time
permanent or ‘standard’ employment would be compatible with the circumstances,
preferences and requirements of these groups. Later in this paper I draw
attention to the strong growth in the permanent part-time employee share of
total employees over the past three decades which has offset the decline in the
permanent full-time employee share. This helps explain the relatively stable
casual and permanent shares of total employees for much of this period.
Different forms of employment—often described as
non-standard employment—have emerged as hiring options for employers such as
employees without paid leave entitlements (or casual employees), labour hire
workers, employees on short-term contracts, and independent contractors.
These forms of employment allow employers to adjust their
labour requirements to their level of operating capacity but also provide
opportunities for people seeking a foot hold in the labour market. However, the
emergence of these forms of employment have contributed to less job stability
and security for some workers if they become trapped in less secure employment.
This trend has shifted the burden of responsibility for
providing appropriate pay and conditions for employees away from host employers[15] to either a
separate organisation (that is, labour hire firms and employment agencies) or
individuals (independent contractors) with potentially negative impacts on the
provision of training[16]
and the health and safety for workers.[17]
Definitions of different forms of employment
The responsibility of employers for providing entitlements
to workers can vary depending on whether the employer directly engages the
worker as a permanent or casual employee. Permanent employees have access to
paid leave entitlements whereas casual workers do not.
Casual workers may be engaged for a short period of time or
they may continue to work for the employer for longer periods of time. Some
casual workers may have regular systematic hours of work per week whereas
others have more irregular hours. Employers can also engage workers on a
fixed-term contract, or as an ongoing employee. Employers also have options to
recruit workers from a labour hire firm or employment agency (which accepts the
responsibility for the working conditions and payment of on-hired workers) or
they may engage the services of independent contractors (who don’t have
employee entitlements). The following box shows definitions of different forms
of employment used by employers in the economy.
Permanent
and casual employees working full-time or part-time hours are entitled to
superannuation contributions if they meet certain eligibility requirements. Under
the superannuation guarantee, employers have to pay superannuation
contributions of 10% of an employee's ordinary time earnings when an employee
is paid $450 or more before tax in a month and is either over 18 years or
under 18 years and works over 30 hours a week.[18]
Composition of employment in Australia
Table 1 shows the composition of
total employment in Australia in August 2020. Total employment includes
employees and business owners that are also classified by the ABS as owner
managers of incorporated and unincorporated enterprises. Full-time permanent
employment accounted for 50.7% of total employment and 61.1% of all employees.
The table also shows the shares of total employment in Australia accounted for
by flexible forms of employment such as casual employees (18.2% of total
employment), part-time permanent employees (14.1%), employees on fixed-term
contracts (3.3%) and labour hire employees (0.9%).
It should be noted that employees on fixed-term contracts
and labour hire employees are shown in the table as sub-categories of employees
rather than separate independent employment types. Business owners accounted
for 16.9% of total employment, composed of independent contractors (8.1%) and
other business owners (8.8%).
Table
1: composition of total employment in Australia, August 2020
| Employment type |
Number |
% share of total
employment |
| Employees |
|
|
| Permanent full-time employees |
6,369,500 |
50.7 |
| Permanent part-time employees |
1,776,600 |
14.1 |
| Casual full-time employees |
671,700 |
5.3 |
| Casual part-time employees |
1,609,900 |
12.8 |
| Total permanent employees |
8,146,100 |
64.9 |
| Total casual employees |
2,281,600 |
18.2 |
| Total full-time employees |
7,041,200 |
56.1 |
| Total part-time employees |
3,385,000 |
27.0 |
| Total employees |
10,427,700 |
83.1 |
| Sub-categories of employees |
|
|
| Employees on fixed-term contracts |
413.1 |
3.3 |
| Labour hire employees |
112.6 |
0.9 |
| Business owners |
|
|
| Independent contractors |
1,022,700 |
8.1 |
| Other business owners |
1,105,000 |
8.8 |
| Total business owners |
2,127,700 |
16.9 |
| TOTAL EMPLOYMENT |
12,555,400 |
100.0 |
Source: ABS, Characteristics of Employment, Australia, ABS, Canberra, December 20202, various tables and
TableBuilder (original data).
Historical data is available for the full-time permanent
employee share of total employees since 1992 which has been taken from two
different ABS data sources. Data earlier than 1992 is problematic due to the
inclusion of business owners (also known as owner managers of incorporated and
unincorporated enterprises) in employee and employment estimates.
The data that is available shows a slow steady decline in
the ‘standard’ employment share of total employees from 70.4% in 1992 to 59.8%
in both 2016 and 2017, before increasing slightly to 61.7% in 2021 (see Chart
1). The increase in the standard employment share of total employees in the 18
months to August 2021 was due more to the pronounced shedding of casual
employees following the introduction of trading restrictions to combat the
spread of COVID-19 rather than strong growth in permanent full-time employment.
Chart 1: full-time permanent
employee or ‘standard’ employee share of total employees, 1992–2021
Sources: 1992 to 2003—ABS, Australian Labour Market Statistics, ABS, Canberra, various years, Table 1; 2004 to
2020—ABS, Characteristics of Employment, Australia, ABS, Canberra, December 2020, Table 1c.3; 2021—ABS, Labour Force, detailed, ABS, Canberra, October 2021, Datacube EQ04 (original
data).
The Melbourne Institute analysed Household, Income and
Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey data to gauge the extent of
standard and non-standard employment in Australia and found approximately 59%
of female employees were engaged in non-standard employment in 2017 compared
with one third of men. These estimates are slightly higher than the non-standard
employment shares recorded in 2001. The researchers also found the share of
non-standard employment among those aged 15 to 24 years increased by eight
percentage points from 68% in 2001 to 76% in 2017, making younger workers the
age group with the highest non-standard employment share of total employment.[19]
Trends in the composition of employees in Australia are
shown in Table 2 and Chart 3. The most significant
change, apart from the decline in the full-time permanent employee share, is
the increase in the permanent part-time employee share from 8.2% in August 1992
to 15.8% in August 2021. In comparison the casual full-time and part-time
employee shares have been much more stable.
Table 2: trends in the
composition of total employees by selected years, 1992–2021
| |
Permanent
full-time % |
Permanent
part-time % |
Casual full-time % |
Casual part-time % |
Total employees % |
| 1992 |
70.4 |
8.2 |
5.3 |
16.2 |
100.0 |
| 1995 |
68.4 |
8.9 |
6.6 |
16.1 |
100.0 |
| 2000 |
64.5 |
10.2 |
8.2 |
17.0 |
100.0 |
| 2005 |
63.3 |
12.5 |
7.0 |
17.2 |
100.0 |
| 2010 |
62.1 |
13.7 |
7.4 |
16.8 |
100.0 |
| 2015 |
60.8 |
14.9 |
7.1 |
17.1 |
100.0 |
| 2020 |
61.1 |
17.0 |
6.4 |
15.4 |
100.0 |
| 2021 |
61.7 |
15.8 |
7.6 |
15.0 |
100.0 |
Sources:
1992 to 2003—ABS, Australian Labour Market Statistics, ABS, Canberra, various years, Table 1; 2004 to
2020—ABS, Characteristics of Employment, Australia, ABS, Canberra, December 2020, Table 1c.3; 2021—ABS, Labour Force, detailed, ABS, Canberra, October 2021, Datacube EQ04 (original
data).
Chart 2: trends in the number of
casual and permanent employees, 1992–2021
Sources: 2004 to 2020—ABS, Characteristics of Employment, ABS, Canberra, December 2020, Table 1c.3; 2021—ABS, Labour Force, detailed, ABS, Canberra, October 2021, Datacube EQ04 (original
data).
Estimates for casual employment
Annual
estimates
In August 2021 there were just over 2.4 million casual
employees working in Australia who accounted for 22.5% of all employees.
Chart 3 shows long-term trends in the casual share of total
employees in Australia from August 1992 to August 2021. Prior to 1992 estimates
for employees with and without paid leave entitlements included owner managers
of incorporated and unincorporated enterprises (or business owners) who may
have reported that they were employees of their own company. Data available
from 1992 enables the separation of employees from business owners.
Chart 3: casual employee share
of total employees, 1992–2021
Sources: 1992 to 2003—ABS, Australian Labour Market Statistics, ABS, Canberra, various years, Table 1; 2004 to
2020—ABS, Characteristics of Employment, Australia, ABS, Canberra, December 2020, Table 1c.3; 2021—ABS, Labour Force, detailed, ABS, Canberra, October 2021, Datacube EQ04 (original
data).
The casual share of total employees increased steadily from
21.5% in August 1992 to 25.5% in both 2003 and 2004 and then hovered between
23% and 25% until 2019. The casual share fell sharply to 21.9% in August 2020
due to the disproportionate impact on casual workers of business trading
restrictions put in place to limit the spread of COVID-19—before recovering
slightly to 22.5% in August 2021, as more businesses that used casual employees
reopened.[20]
The casual share of total female employees was stable at
around 30% in the decade between the early 1990s and early 2000s. The casual
share for females has been gradually falling since. Part of the reason for this
trend is the strong growth in female permanent part-time employment—up from
424,000 in 1992 to just over 1.1 million in 2013 (an increase of 728,000 or
172%), compared with growth in female casual part-time employment—up from 713,000
in 1992 to just over 1.0 million in 2013 (an increase of 311,000 or 44%).[21]
The casual share of total female employees fell to 23.5% in
2020 due to trading restrictions imposed to limit the spread of COVID-19. The
casual share has since risen to 24.2% in August 2021 as casual workers were
hired after business reopened. However, this result masks the shedding of
casual workers observed in the three months to August 2021 resulting from
lockdowns imposed in New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT.
Chart 4: casual employee share
of total employees by gender, 1992–2021
Sources: 1992 to 2003—ABS, Australian Labour Market Statistics, ABS, Canberra, various years, Table 1; 2004 to
2020—ABS, Characteristics of Employment, Australia, ABS, Canberra, December 2020, Table 1c.3; 2021—ABS, Labour Force, detailed, ABS, Canberra, October 2021, Datacube EQ04 (original
data).
The casual share of total male employees increased steadily
from 14.0% in 1992 to a peak of 23.3% in 2016 due to stronger growth in male
casual employment compared with permanent employment. For example, the number
of male casual employees more than doubled from 463,000 in 1992 to just under
1.2 million in 2016, while the number of male permanent employees increased
from 2.8 million to 3.9 million (an increase of just over 1 million or 37%).[22] The male casual
employee share fell to 20.2% in 2020—also the result of the shedding of casual
jobs by employers affected by trading restrictions due to COVID-19
lockdowns—but has increased slightly since to 20.9%.
Quarterly
estimates
The ABS also provides more regular quarterly estimates of
employees with and without paid leave entitlements since August 2014 which
shows a big drop in the casual share of total employees from 24.1% in February
2020 to 20.6% in May 2020. This was followed by a recovery to 23.6% in May 2021
before falling again to 22.5% in August 2021 (see Chart 5). There were 2.4
million casual workers in Australia in August 2021 of whom 816,400 were working
full time and 1,609,200 were working part-time.
Chart 5: casual employee share
of total employees, 2014–2021
Source: ABS, Labour Force, detailed, ABS, Canberra, October 2021, Table 13 (original
data).
The fall in the number of casual employees between February
and May 2020 was much more pronounced than the fall in the number of permanent
employees. Part of the reason for this is permanent employees were much more
likely than casual employees to get access to the JobKeeper Payment implemented
by the Australian Government.
Non-casual employees that worked full-time or part-time were
eligible for the JobKeeper Payment, regardless of the length of time they had
been with their current employer. But only long-term casual employees—those
that had been with their employer for 12 months or more and had been engaged by
their employer on a regular and systematic basis during the previous
12-months—were eligible.[23]
Just under 60% of casual workers had been with their current employer for more
than 12 months in August 2019 compared with 83.8% of permanent workers.[24]
Those stood down from their positions as a result of the
early COVID-19 restrictions and were eligible for JobKeeper Payment would have
reported themselves as being employed and working zero hours in the ABS Labour
Force Survey. The level of unemployment and the unemployment rate would have
been much higher if these workers were unable to access the payment. In
contrast casual employees that had been with their employer for less than 12
months would not have been entitled to the JobKeeper Payment and would have
been recorded as unemployed or not in the labour force if they became
discouraged from looking for work.
Table 3 shows the number of casual
employees fell by 540,400 (or 20.6%) between February and May 2020. This compares
with a fall of 215,300 permanent employees (or 2.6%). While the number of
casual employees has recovered since, the level recorded in August 2021 was
still 199,000 (or 7.6%) below the level recorded in February 2020. In contrast
the number of permanent employees in August 2021 was 66,900 (or 0.8%) higher
than the level of permanent employees recorded in February 2020.
Table 3: change in the number of permanent and casual employees,
February 2020–August 2021
| |
Perm total (‘000) |
Perm full-time (‘000) |
Perm part-time
(‘000) |
Casual total
(‘000) |
Casual full-time
(‘000) |
Casual part-time
(‘000) |
Total (‘000) |
| Feb 20 |
8,267.7 |
6,657.8 |
1,609.9 |
2,624.7 |
880.6 |
1,744.1 |
10,892.4 |
| May 20 |
8,052.4 |
6,470.4 |
1,582.1 |
2,084.3 |
695.4 |
1,389.0 |
10,136.8 |
| May 21 |
8,402.7 |
6,719.1 |
1,683.6 |
2,600.1 |
808.6 |
1,791.6 |
11,002.8 |
| Aug 21 |
8,334.6 |
6,634.9 |
1,699.7 |
2,425.7 |
816.4 |
1,609.2 |
10,760.3 |
| Feb 20 to May 20 |
-215.3 |
-187.4 |
-27.9 |
-540.4 |
-185.2 |
-355.2 |
-755.6 |
| May 20 to May 21 |
350.2 |
248.7 |
101.6 |
515.8 |
113.2 |
402.6 |
866.0 |
| May 21 to Aug 21 |
-68.0 |
-84.1 |
16.1 |
-174.5 |
7.9 |
-182.3 |
-242.5 |
| Feb 20 to Aug 21 |
66.9 |
-22.8 |
89.8 |
-199.0 |
-64.1 |
-134.9 |
-132.1 |
Source: ABS, Labour Force, detailed, ABS, Canberra, October 2021, Table 13 (original
data).
Both full-time and part-time casuals were affected by
lockdowns in the 18 months to August 2021. Full-time casual employment fell by
9.0% for males and by 4.1% for females between February 2020 and August 2021.
Part-time casual employment fell by 7.9% for males and by 7.6% for females.
During the same period permanent part-time employment for
males and females rose by 15.9% and 3.0% respectively. Full-time permanent
employment fell marginally for both men and women (down 0.5% and 0.1%
respectively).
Table 4: change in permanent and
casual employees by sex, 2020–2021
| Type of employee |
Feb 20 |
May 20 |
May 21 |
Aug 21 |
Change—Feb 20 to
Aug 2021 |
| |
‘000 |
‘000 |
‘000 |
‘000 |
‘000 |
% |
| Male |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Full-time permanent |
3,929.9 |
3,835.0 |
3,957.9 |
3,908.9 |
-21.0 |
-0.5 |
| Full-time casual |
572.0 |
471.3 |
492.7 |
520.4 |
-51.6 |
-9.0 |
| Total full-time |
4,501.9 |
4,306.3 |
4,450.6 |
4,429.3 |
-72.5 |
-1.6 |
| Part-time permanent |
316.1 |
312.6 |
369.3 |
366.4 |
50.3 |
15.9 |
| Part-time casual |
661.0 |
528.0 |
685.9 |
608.8 |
-52.2 |
-7.9 |
| Total part-time |
977.1 |
840.6 |
1,055.2 |
975.3 |
-1.9 |
-0.2 |
| Female |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Full-time permanent |
2,727.9 |
2,635.4 |
2,761.1 |
2,726.0 |
-1.9 |
-0.1 |
| Full-time casual |
308.5 |
224.1 |
315.9 |
296.0 |
-12.6 |
-4.1 |
| Total full-time |
3,036.5 |
2,859.5 |
3,077.0 |
3,022.0 |
-14.4 |
-0.5 |
| Part-time permanent |
1,293.8 |
1,269.5 |
1,314.3 |
1,333.3 |
39.5 |
3.0 |
| Part-time casual |
1,083.1 |
861.0 |
1,105.7 |
1,000.4 |
-82.7 |
-7.6 |
| Total part-time |
2,376.9 |
2,130.5 |
2,420.0 |
2,333.7 |
-43.2 |
-1.8 |
Source: ABS, Labour Force, detailed, ABS, Canberra, October 2021, Datacube EQ04 (original
data).
Casual
share of total hours worked
Casual workers account for a much smaller share of total
hours worked compared to their share of total employees. This is due to casual
workers being much more likely to work part-time hours than permanent employees
(66.3% compared with 20.4% in August 2021) and the greater likelihood of
experiencing variable hours from week to week (discussed in the next section).[25]
Casual employees accounted for 15.1% of all hours worked by
employees in the economy in August 2021 which compares with their 22.5% share
of all employees. At the outset of the pandemic in Australia, the casual share
of total hours worked by employees fell substantially from 17.0% in February
2020 to 13.6% in May 2020.
Chart 6:
casual share of total hours worked by employees, 2014–2021
Source: ABS, Labour Force, detailed, ABS, Canberra, October 2021, Table 13 (original
data).
Chart 7 shows casual employees were
much more adversely affected in terms of the change in total hours worked in
all jobs between February 2020 and August 2021 (using an index starting base of
100.0 in February 2020).
Chart 7: change in total hours worked by employees,
February 2020—August 2021
Source: ABS, Labour Force, detailed, ABS, Canberra, October 2021, Table 13 (original
data).
Hours worked by casual employees fell by 27.6% in the three
months to May 2020 compared with the three months to February 2020. By
comparison hours worked by permanent employees fell by 6.1%. And more recently,
total hours worked by casual employees fell by 14.2% in the three months to
August 2021 compared with the previous three months, whereas hours worked by
permanent employees fell by 3.1%.
Extent
of job insecurity and instability for casual employees
ABS data has been used to determine the degree of job
security associated with different forms of employment. A number of
indicators can inform whether some forms of employment are more precarious than
others in terms of perceptions by employees about the likelihood of job change
or job loss in the future. The data also sheds light on forms of employment
that may be less reliable in terms of providing regular and sufficient hours of
work and earnings.
Over a third (36.3%) of casual employees had been with their
current employer or business for less than 12 months in August 2020 (which
would have precluded them from entitlement to access to the JobKeeper Payment).[26] Casual workers
are much more likely to experience variable earnings and hours of work than
permanent employees. And in terms of job security casual workers are more than twice
as likely to expect to not be with their current employer in 12 months (15.8%
compared with 7.5%). However, it should be noted that the expectation that
workers won’t be with their current employer in 12 months is not necessarily
due to perceived job loss. Some workers may regard their current employment as
temporary and could expect to move to a different job with a different employer
through personal choice.
Chart 8: job security and
stability for permanent and casual employees, August 2020
Source: ABS,
Characteristics of Employment, Australia, ABS, Canberra, using TableBuilder.
Job instability is much more prevalent among part-time
casual workers. The data for August 2020 shows 68.7% of casual part-time
workers were not guaranteed a minimum number of hours per week compared with
only 8.3% of permanent employees. Around 43.8% per cent of casual workers
reported variable hours of work (i.e. they did not usually work the same number
of hours each week) and 58.9% reported variable earnings in different pay
periods.[27]
Chart 9: job security and
stability among full-time and part-time workers, August 2020
Source: ABS, Characteristics of Employment, Australia, ABS, Canberra, using TableBuilder.
Uncertainty about future earnings may present difficulties
to individuals and households in paying bills, paying rent and servicing debt
requirements associated with taking out loans. Understandably, financial
institutions need to screen whether individuals are in a secure financial
position to service future loan repayments. Financial institutions usually
require a casual employee to have been in their current job for 12 months or
more as one of the eligibility criteria for granting a loan while others may
require evidence of regular hours for three months or more.[28]
Part-time casual and part-time permanent employees were more
likely to be seeking more hours of work and were available for more hours
within four weeks of the survey being conducted (at 34.4% and 19.3%
respectively) in August 2020.[29]
Interestingly, 14.7% of full-time casual employees were
seeking more hours of work even though they were already working full-time
hours. This outcome may possibly be related to the low rate of remuneration
they received in their current job. Casual workers are more likely to have a
shorter tenure with their current employer than permanent employees. Around
36.3% of casual employees in August 2020 had been with their current employer
for 12 months or less compared with 13.3% of permanent employees.[30]
Wage
outcomes for permanent and casual employees
There is a growing disparity between median hourly earnings
of permanent and casual workers. In August 2020 permanent employees had a
median hourly wage rate of $38.60 which compared with a median of $28.50 per
hour for casual employees—a gap of just over $10 per hour. This compares with a
gap of just over $4 per hour recorded in August 2004 (see Table 5). The gap
between permanent full-time workers and casual full-time workers was $9.47 per
hour in August 2020 while the gap between permanent part-time workers and
casual part-time workers was $7.09. The median hourly earnings gap for
full-time workers in favour of permanent employees was only $3.20 in 2004 while
the gap in favour of permanent part-time workers was $3.23.[31]
Table 5: weighted[32] median
hourly earnings for permanent and casual employees, August 2004–August 2020
| August |
Perm full-time ($
per hour) |
Casual full-time
($ per hour) |
Perm part-time ($
per hour) |
Casual part-time
($ per hour) |
Perm total ($ per hour) |
Casual total ($
per hour) |
Median wage gap
total ($ per hour) |
| 2004 |
20.44 |
17.24 |
18.23 |
15.00 |
20.00 |
15.92 |
4.08 |
| 2010 |
26.76 |
22.19 |
23.33 |
20.00 |
26.29 |
20.00 |
6.29 |
| 2011 |
28.00 |
22.50 |
24.00 |
20.00 |
27.08 |
20.40 |
6.68 |
| 2012 |
29.07 |
23.68 |
25.00 |
20.31 |
28.26 |
21.25 |
7.01 |
| 2013 |
29.53 |
24.11 |
25.00 |
20.80 |
28.57 |
21.80 |
6.77 |
| 2014 |
31.95 |
25.00 |
26.84 |
22.00 |
31.25 |
23.00 |
8.25 |
| 2015 |
32.00 |
25.00 |
28.00 |
22.22 |
31.25 |
23.33 |
7.92 |
| 2016 |
32.89 |
26.00 |
28.13 |
23.17 |
31.87 |
24.00 |
7.87 |
| 2017 |
34.04 |
26.23 |
29.00 |
24.00 |
32.89 |
25.00 |
7.89 |
| 2018 |
35.46 |
28.48 |
29.82 |
25.00 |
34.06 |
25.29 |
8.77 |
| 2019 |
36.84 |
28.57 |
31.31 |
25.00 |
35.51 |
26.32 |
9.19 |
| 2020 |
39.47 |
30.00 |
35.02 |
27.93 |
38.56 |
28.47 |
10.09 |
Source: ABS, Characteristics of Employment, Australia, ABS, Canberra, December 2020, Table 1c.2.
These wage outcomes are directly related to the skill
composition and the age of permanent and casual employees. Casual workers are
much more likely to be less skilled, younger and less experienced than their
permanent employee counterparts. For example, around 40.1% of casual workers
were aged 15 to 24 years in August 2020 compared with only a 9.7% share of
permanent employees. Further, casual employees accounted for 53.7% of all
employees aged 15 to 24 years compared with 15.3% and 16.0% shares respectively
for those aged 25 to 44 years and those aged 45 years plus.[33] Only 15.1% of casual workers
were classified as managers or professionals in August 2020 which compares with
43.8% of permanent employees. In contrast sales workers, machinery operators,
drivers and labourers accounted for 46.8% of casual workers but only 17.9% of
permanent employees.[34]
Table 6: permanent and casual employees by age, August 2020
| Age |
Permanent
employees |
Casual employees |
Total employees |
| ‘000 |
Share of total (%) |
‘000 |
Share of total (%) |
‘000 |
Casual prevalence
(%) |
| 15 to 24 years |
787.2 |
9.7 |
914.6 |
40.1 |
1,702.3 |
53.7 |
| 25 to 44 years |
4157 |
51.0 |
753.1 |
33.0 |
4,911.1 |
15.3 |
| 45 years plus |
3,204.8 |
39.3 |
611.7 |
26.8 |
3817 |
16.0 |
| TOTAL |
8,145.6 |
100.0 |
2,283.1 |
100.0 |
10,428.2 |
21.9 |
Source: ABS, Characteristics of Employment, Australia, ABS, Canberra,
using TableBuilder.
Table 7: permanent and casual employees by occupation,
August 2020
| Occupation category |
Permanent
employees |
Casual employees |
Total employees |
| ‘000 |
Share of total (%) |
‘000 |
Share of total (%) |
‘000 |
Casual prevalence
(%) |
| Managers |
1,040.0 |
12.8 |
73.1 |
3.2 |
1,116.1 |
6.5 |
| Professionals |
2,531.4 |
31.1 |
271.8 |
11.9 |
2,804.7 |
9.7 |
| Technicians & Trades Workers |
1,082.1 |
13.3 |
202.9 |
8.9 |
1,284.5 |
15.8 |
| Community & Personal Service Workers |
707.7 |
8.7 |
443.1 |
19.4 |
1,151.8 |
38.5 |
| Clerical & Admin Workers |
1,327.9 |
16.3 |
217.7 |
9.5 |
1,547.1 |
14.1 |
| Sales Workers |
492.0 |
6.0 |
407.4 |
17.8 |
900.4 |
45.2 |
| Machinery Operators & Drivers |
466.5 |
5.7 |
193.6 |
8.5 |
661.1 |
29.3 |
| Labourers |
497.4 |
6.1 |
467.6 |
20.5 |
966.5 |
48.4 |
| TOTAL |
8,145.6 |
100.0 |
2,283.1 |
100.0 |
10,428.2 |
21.9 |
Source: ABS, Characteristics of Employment, Australia, ABS, Canberra, using TableBuilder.
Wage rates for more highly skilled employees are growing at
a faster rate than wages for unskilled workers. The median hourly wage rate of
permanent employees in August 2020 was almost double the rate paid in August
2004 (up 92.8%) whereas the median hourly wage rate for casual employees
increased by 78.8%.[35]
Occupational analysis of wage data
shows very little difference in median hourly earnings of professionals that
were working on a permanent or casual basis in August 2020 but significant
differences were revealed for managers working as permanent or casual employees
(see Table 8). Other occupational categories showed higher median hourly
earnings recorded for permanent employees compared with their casual employee
counterparts (see Table 8). These wage differentials exist despite the
availability of loadings on top of hourly wage rates—usually set at between 25%
and 30%—to compensate casual employees for the lack of access to paid leave
entitlements.[36]
Table 8: weighted[37]
median hourly earnings ($) for permanent and casual employees by occupation and
full-time/part-time status, August 2020
| Occupation category |
Permanent
employees |
Casual employees |
| Full-time |
Part-time |
Total |
Full-time |
Part-time |
Total |
| Managers |
53.00 |
44.70 |
51.00 |
36.00 |
31.00 |
34.00 |
| Professionals |
49.00 |
50.00 |
50.00 |
50.00 |
50.00 |
49.70 |
| Technicians & trades workers |
35.00 |
30.00 |
34.00 |
32.00 |
30.00 |
30.00 |
| Community & personal service workers |
33.00 |
30.50 |
32.00 |
29.00 |
29.00 |
29.00 |
| Clerical & administrative workers |
34.00 |
35.00 |
35.00 |
30.90 |
30.40 |
30.00 |
| Sales workers |
30.00 |
26.00 |
28.00 |
23.00 |
25.00 |
25.00 |
| Machinery operators & drivers |
32.00 |
30.00 |
31.00 |
30.00 |
27.00 |
29.00 |
| Labourers |
28.00 |
26.00 |
28.00 |
26.00 |
25.00 |
25.00 |
| All occupations |
39.00 |
35.00 |
39.00 |
30.00 |
28.00 |
28.00 |
Note:
many of the median hourly earnings estimates by occupation and employee type in
the table have been rounded to the nearest dollar.
Source: ABS, Characteristics of Employment, Australia, ABS, Canberra, using TableBuilder.
Impact
of employment type on wage outcomes
Mooi-Reci and Wooden examined longitudinal data from the
Household and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey for the period
between 2001 and 2014 to see if there were any long-term impact on earnings
from engagement in casual employment. The researchers found males are more
likely to experience a wage penalty from engagement in casual employment,
particularly male workers that experience casual employment later in their working
career.
The researchers found:
... casual employment has a
much stronger negative association with the long-run earnings prospects of men
than of women. Indeed, among women the average wage penalty associated with
casual employment is less than half the size of that for men
…
wage differentials are
relatively persistent for men who experience casual employment later in their
working life, and especially when entering what is widely thought of as the
prime-age employment years. Indeed, the wage gap grows for male workers in this
age group. In contrast, for younger male workers (under 35 years of age) these
wage gaps shrink with experience, and by the end of our 11-year observation
period have largely disappeared.[38]
Characteristics
of casual employees
Table 9 shows the casual share of all employees in each
industry in August 2020 and the industry share of all casual employees.
Together Retail trade, Accommodation and food services and
Health care and social assistance accounted for just under a half (48.6%) of
all casual employees in August 2020.
Accommodation and food services had the highest casual
prevalence rate[39]
(at just under 60%), followed by Agriculture, forestry and fishing (46.6%),
Retail trade (37.6%), Arts and recreation services (36.9%) and Administrative
and support services (35.8%).[40]
Table 9:
casual employees by industry, August 2020
| Industry |
Casual employees
(‘000) |
Total employees
(‘000) |
Casual prevalence
in industry (%) |
Share of all
casual employees in all industries (%) |
Share of all
employees in all industries (%) |
| Agriculture, forestry & fishing |
73.7 |
158.1 |
46.6 |
3.2 |
1.5 |
| Mining |
39.9 |
246.1 |
16.2 |
1.7 |
2.4 |
| Manufacturing |
116.4 |
737.4 |
15.8 |
5.1 |
7.1 |
| Electricity, gas, water & waste services |
12.8 |
138.3 |
9.3 |
0.6 |
1.3 |
| Construction |
149 |
744.9 |
20.0 |
6.5 |
7.1 |
| Wholesale trade |
50.8 |
346.5 |
14.7 |
2.2 |
3.3 |
| Retail trade |
397.1 |
1,055.5 |
37.6 |
17.4 |
10.1 |
| Accommodation & food services |
401.8 |
670.4 |
59.9 |
17.6 |
6.4 |
| Transport, postal & warehousing |
114 |
488.5 |
23.3 |
5.0 |
4.7 |
| Information, media & telecommunications |
18.9 |
155.8 |
12.1 |
0.8 |
1.5 |
| Financial & insurance services |
28.5 |
436.6 |
6.5 |
1.2 |
4.2 |
| Rental, hiring & real estate services |
23.2 |
162.5 |
14.3 |
1.0 |
1.6 |
| Professional, scientific & technical services |
92 |
828.3 |
11.1 |
4.0 |
7.9 |
| Administrative & support services |
102.1 |
284.8 |
35.8 |
4.5 |
2.7 |
| Public administration & safety |
68.3 |
838.2 |
8.1 |
3.0 |
8.0 |
| Education & training |
158.8 |
1,041.7 |
15.2 |
7.0 |
10.0 |
| Health care & social assistance |
311 |
1,622.9 |
19.2 |
13.6 |
15.6 |
| Arts & recreation services |
59.3 |
160.8 |
36.9 |
2.6 |
1.5 |
| Other services |
69.6 |
304.6 |
22.8 |
3.0 |
2.9 |
| All industries |
2,283.1 |
10,428.2 |
21.9 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
Source: ABS, Characteristics of Employment, Australia, ABS, Canberra, using TableBuilder.
Table 10 reveals how people in different relationship
categories were employed in August 2020.
Table 10: casual and permanent
employees by relationship in household, August 2020
| Relationship in household |
Sex |
Casual employees
(‘000) |
Share of all
casual employees (%) |
Casual prevalence
(%) |
Permanent
employees (‘000) |
Share of all
permanent employees (%) |
| Husband, wife or partner |
Males |
421.4 |
18.7 |
12.5 |
2,943.6 |
36.3 |
| Females |
529.8 |
23.6 |
16.8 |
2,616.3 |
32.3 |
| Total |
951.6 |
42.3 |
14.6 |
5,558.8 |
68.6 |
| Lone parent |
Males |
11.9 |
0.5 |
13.6 |
75.3 |
0.9 |
| Females |
69.7 |
3.1 |
19.7 |
284.9 |
3.5 |
| Total |
81.6 |
3.6 |
18.5 |
358.9 |
4.4 |
| Dependent student |
Males |
196.6 |
8.7 |
80.5 |
47.5 |
0.6 |
| Females |
256.7 |
11.4 |
82.6 |
54.1 |
0.7 |
| Total |
455.9 |
20.3 |
81.4 |
104 |
1.3 |
| Non-dependent child |
Males |
205.5 |
9.1 |
29.7 |
487.2 |
6.0 |
| Females |
167.7 |
7.5 |
32.2 |
353.2 |
4.4 |
| Total |
372.7 |
16.6 |
30.7 |
841.6 |
10.4 |
| Other family person |
Males |
55.8 |
2.5 |
40.3 |
82.6 |
1.0 |
| Females |
34.8 |
1.5 |
31.1 |
77 |
1.0 |
| Total |
89 |
4.0 |
35.6 |
160.7 |
2.0 |
| Non-family member or person living alone |
Males |
160.7 |
7.1 |
23.3 |
529.4 |
6.5 |
| Females |
137.7 |
6.1 |
20.1 |
547.4 |
6.8 |
| Total |
297.8 |
13.2 |
21.7 |
1,075.3 |
13.3 |
| Total (excluding relationship not determined) |
Males |
1,051.9 |
46.8 |
20.2 |
4,165.6 |
51.4 |
| Females |
1,196.4 |
53.2 |
23.5 |
3,932.9 |
48.6 |
| Total |
2,248.6 |
100.0 |
21.9 |
8,099.3 |
100.0 |
Note:
some disaggregated estimates may not add to 100.0% due to rounding.
Source: ABS, Characteristics of Employment, Australia, ABS, Canberra, using TableBuilder (original data).
People in partnered relationships and lone parents are much
less likely to be casual employees than dependent and non-dependent children
and people living alone. Around 81.4% of employed dependent children and 30.7%
of employed non-dependent children were casual employees. By comparison only
14.6% of employed people in partnered relationships were casual workers along
with 18.5% of employed lone parents. Partnered people accounted for 68.6% of
all permanent employees and 42.3% of all casual employees. Female partners and
dependent students together accounted for 43.9% of all casual employees in
August 2020.[41]
Conclusion
Over the longer term the casual share of total female
employees has been falling whereas the prevalence of male casual employment has
been increasing.
The casual share of total employees remained quite stable in
Australia between the mid-1990s and 2019. However, the casual share dipped
significantly between February 2020 and May 2020 due to the relatively larger
fall in casual employment following trading restrictions imposed to limit the
spread of COVID-19. After recovering in the following 12 months, the casual
share dipped again in the three months to August 2021 following trading
restrictions imposed in New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT.
Casual employees tend to have much less job stability than
permanent employees with less certainty about regularity of hours of work and
earnings from week to week.