Help wanted: Limited hours and benefits

It’s widely perceived that the post-2009 employment recovery has been dominated by temporary and part-time jobs that typically have fewer health and retirement benefits. The data show there is some truth to this perception, but only by a matter of degree.

During the recession, for example, part-time jobs rose in the U.S., but have been mostly flat in Minnesota. However, the number that were part-time for economic reasons (in other words, they wanted full-time work but accepted part-time) has risen considerably both nationwide and in Minnesota, while part-time jobs held for noneconomic reasons fell (see Chart 1). Though the trend has leveled off, a quick return to pre-recession levels doesn’t appear likely.

Still, despite the increase, the share of part-time workers has risen only marginally in the Ninth District and the nation (see Chart 2). The part-time share of employment in the Ninth District historically has been higher than the national average, in part, because district states have generally higher workforce participation rates, especially among young workers age 16 to 19 (almost 50 percent in Minnesota, versus the U.S. rate of 35 percent), as well as higher rates of workers with more than one job. Both factors are correlated with a higher incidence of part-time employment.

Temporary jobs also have grown considerably since the end of the recession. But they still make up about 2 percent (and often much less) of total nonfarm employment in Ninth District states (see earlier blog post for more on temp jobs).

A greater share of jobs today do not have health or retirement benefits. In Minnesota, for example, the number of available jobs offering health benefits has slowly eroded over the last decade, bottoming out below 50 percent before rising this year in quarterly job vacancy surveys by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (see Chart 3). Federal data also show that the percentage of jobs with pension plans in district states has fallen slightly from 58 percent in 2006 to 56 percent in 2012, but 2012 actually saw a notable gain of almost 1.5 percentage points.

DEED’s job vacancy surveys also show that the share of part-time and temporary or seasonal vacancies has been volatile since the recession, but the trend line for both has gradually ticked higher (see Chart 4). That’s not likely to change quickly. Online job ads tracked by the Conference Board through October 2013 show that ads for part-time jobs continue to rise in Ninth District states (see Chart 5).

Dulguun Batbold, research assistant, contributed data for this post.