Part-time employment of married women in the U.S.A. : a cross-sectional analysis

Introduction Part-time work is defined by the Census Bureau as a job of less than 35 hours per week. According to Tilly (1992), part-time work can be classified into three categories: (1) short-time, a common form of part-time employment in the male-dominated manufacturing industries, used more often during a downturn, (2) secondary part-time jobs, characterized by low-skills and high turnover, representing one form of the so-called secondary labor market, and (3) retention part-time jobs, marked by professional skills and low turnover, most often referring to a voluntary arrangement. Evidence showed that secondary part-time employment is the most common type of part-time work, for almost two-thirds of all part-timers work in the predominantly low-skilled occupations in the areas of clerical, sales and services. However, the demand for part-time and temporary employment has risen so substantially in the last decade (Golden and Applebaum, 1992; duRivage, 1992; Tilly, 1992) that a new concept of part-time work has emerged. The status of part-timers has been transformed accordingly, for it is no longer considered to be a second rate status, especially for those who arrange to work on a voluntary basis. The new notions of part-time work include (1) work sharing, (2) voluntarily reduced working hours, (3) job sharing and (4) phased retirement (Axel, 1988). In 1992, more than 21 million workers were part-timers and accounted for 17.4 percent of the total employment. The corresponding percentage of part-timers in 1980 was 16.9 percent. Between 1980 and 1992, the U.S. economy created more than 18 million jobs, and 21 percent of these new jobs were part-time work. Apparently, jobs with a part-time schedule were created at a faster rate than were jobs with a full-time schedule in that period.(1) What is more striking is that involuntary part-time employment comprised 40 percent of new part-time jobs (Applebaum, 1992). Part-time workers are considered involuntary if workers get their jobs due to "slack work, plant downtime, starting or ending their work during the week they are surveyed, or inability to find a job" (Tilly, 1992, 43). Forty percent of new part-time jobs created in 1992 meant 1.5 million workers were working involuntarily on a part-time basis while preferring a full-time job. This alarming trend deserves attention especially in light of the fact that the increase in the rate of part-time jobs seems to be stronger regarding males and teenagers. Table 1 presents the part-time/full-time employment ratios for 1980 and 1992 for males, females, male teenagers, and female teenagers. First, it appears that only females experienced a drop in the ratio in 1992. The drop in the female group should not be used as an excuse for not paying attention to this topic, for the ratio itself remains more than two-and-a-half times higher than the ratio for males. Secondly, the ratio for both male and female teenagers signifies that for them the normal mode of working is part-time rather than full-time. Thirdly, the dramatic increase in the ratio for these teenagers seems to imply that full-time jobs for teenagers, particularly for female teenagers, are vanishing quickly. Table 1 RATIO AND PERCENTAGE CHANGE OF PART-TIME/FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT BY SEX AND AGE FOR 1980 AND 1992 % of change 1980 1992 in 1992 Male 0.105 0.121 + 15% Female 0.365 0.341 - 7% Male teens 1.025 1.734 + 69% Female teens 1.490 2.628 + 76% Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract of the U.S., 1993. Table No. 639. The focus here is on women. Women are more used to part-time work than men are, for women are always cited as the predominant group hired for temporary or part-time work (Howe, 1986; Golden and Applebaum, 1992; Tilly, 1992). …