A part-time employee is defined as any employee who usually works less than 35 hours per week in all jobs. The greater the number of hours worked per week, the smaller the proportion of casuals in the category. Over the same period, the average number of hours worked by all casual employees increased by 1.7 hours, from 21.6 to 23.3 hours per week. This difference indicates that the rise in the average number of hours worked per week for all casuals was due more to the increased proportion of male casual employees than the propensity for casual workers to work longer hours. 39.2 Females 17.7 18.4 33.2 32.7 Persons 21.6 23.3 36.5 36.4 When surveyed, all part-time employees were asked whether they would have preferred to work more hours.
Casual employees tend to work in lower skilled occupations, and in seasonal industries.
The increase in the number of casual employees in Australia between 1988 and 1998 was much greater than that of other employees over the same period. This increase has been particularly evident for males and for employees aged between 15 and 19. The proportion of casual part-time employees reporting that they would like to work more hours per week also increased. National Key Centre in Industrial Relations, Monash University, Melbourne. A Review of Australian Workforce Data', Labour Economics and Productivity , vol.