Overall U.S. unemployment has fallen steeply in
the past year but too many people can only find part-time positions. The number
of people working part-time involuntarily is more than 50% higher than when the
recession began. There was a similar spike in part-time workers in prior recessions,
but it dropped quickly. That's not happening this time around. In fact, some
states have seen an increase during the recovery in people
languishing in part-time jobs who want something more.
Dead-end jobs: Paige
Stevenson is caught in the part-time job trap. She started working six months
ago as a legal assistant for 30 hours a week in Annapolis, Maryland, a
state where involuntary part-time has doubled since the recession began. She
keeps trying to find something full-time.
People in part-time jobs are five times more likely than
full-time workers to live in poverty. About 75% of part-time workers
either live in poverty or are low income, according to a report by
Rebecca Glauber, a professor at the University of New Hampshire.
There is also a strong connection between unemployment and
part-time work. Often these jobs don't last long.
Hidden Unemployment: Like
Stevenson, many part-timers go through periods without a job. Almost 30% of
involuntary part-time workers are unemployed for three months or longer in a
year, according to Glauber.
While these people are often glad to have a job, the reality
is that involuntary part-time is hidden unemployment. For instance, if a person
works 20 hours a week, but wants 40 hours, that unfulfilled time is spent unemployed.
No Benefits: Most
part-time workers receive no paid sick leave, vacation days or job training
that would improve their careers. Many have no health insurance or pay for it
out-of-pocket.
The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, requires
employers to provide health insurance to employees working 30 or more hours a
week in 2015.
There has been concern that some businesses will scale back
worker hours to avoid having to provide insurance. Walmart, the nation's
largest employer, announced in October that it will not provide
health care coverage for about 26,000 of its part-time employees, although it
did not attribute this move directly to Obamacare.
Some have offered a one-time tax credit to part-time
employees to purchase an Obamacare plan, but it's only for a year. The severity
of part-time employment, and its impact on families, reflects how weak the economy still
is five years after the recession ended.
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