A recent report published by Resolution Foundation, as part of the Health Foundation’s Young person’s future health inquiry, finds part-time work and underemployment are more common among younger workers. The report also found that part-time work is linked to low pay and lower levels of career progression.
Key Findings:
- In the UK, the highest-paid-fifth of workers work the longest weekly hours, and the lowest-paid-fifth work the shortest hours
- Of those workers in low weekly pay, only two-in-five had a low hourly pay, but almost nine-in-ten (88 percent) were in part-time work.
- There is both a pay and a progression penalty attached to part-time work that has real living standards consequences.
- Part-time work is concentrated in low-paying sectors, and those looking for part-time work face far fewer options for well-paid jobs than those able to work full-time.
- In 2015, only one-quarter of part-time workers felt like their job had prospects for advancement, compared to 38 percent of full-time workers
- Underemployment and involuntary part-time work are much more common among young people.
- In 2017-2019, almost half (47 percent) of young men aged 18-24 and a third (33 percent) of young women (excluding those in full-time education) stated that they are working part-time because they could not find a full-time job.
- Low-paid work is often of poor quality and feels stressful and unfulfilling, and job satisfaction among the lowest earners has fallen from over 70 percent in the early 1990s (far higher than for those with higher earnings at this point) to 56 percent in 2017-2019.
- Workers also said that part-time work is often the only way they can achieve flexibility and balance work with their other commitments. Sometimes the only way to avoid weekend or evening shifts was to accept a job offering less than full-time hours, and in other cases, the cost of childcare meant it was not worth working full-time.
Comment:
The findings of this report pose challenging questions for youth employment about the accessibility of good quality work and opportunities for young people. Just under half of all young men (18-24) stated that they are in part-time work as they could not find a full-time job, this level of underemployment is likely to have significant impacts on these young workers in several ways. Firstly, as the report states, there is a progression penalty faced by those in part-time work as they are less likely to feel they have opportunities for promotion and professional development than those in full-time work. Secondly, the earnings impact on young people in the current cost of living crisis is also a cause for concern as they are not meeting their current earnings potential. Thirdly, there is likely to be an impact on young people’s confidence in work and their confidence about the future.
It is important that the government consider the implications of part-time work on workers and particularly those young people. We would recommend that all employers including those offering part-time work look to the principles of Good Youth Employment and the role they have in supporting young people to develop and progress.
