Part-time employment in Australia : long-term trends and business cycle dynamics

TL;DRAbstract

Over the last thirty years there has been significant growth in part-time employment in the Australian labour market. This long-term trend in part-time employment growth can be explained in terms of the main demand and supply side determinants. In addition, the short-term operation of the labour market over the business cycle is argued to be important in explaining the upward trend in the proportion of part-time employment in total employment. Traditionally, the growth in part-time employment is modelled as a linear process. This study demonstrates that there are significant 'asymmetries and nonlinearities in the Australian labour market that may be ignored in this methodology. Growth rates and the level of persistence to shocks are found to vary over different phases of the business cycle. In particular, segmented market theories are used to explain the differential growth rates and persistence levels between part-time and full-time workers. As a result of these differentials, there i

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