Only one quarter of workers around the world have permanent jobs, according to a report by the International Labor Organization (ILO).
The remaining three quarters of the workforce are employed on temporary or short-term contracts, along with informal jobs often without a contract, ILO News reported.
The ILO also found that many workers not in full-time employment have no pensions or benefits. The study covered about 84% of the global workforce, said the UN agency.
Part-time jobs outpaced full-time ones between 2009 and 2013 in a majority of countries where the data was available.
The ILO says flexibility in employment does have some advantages, but it also adds to the risk that workers will be exploited.
The study shows an increasingly diversified global workforce, said director-general Guy Ryder, with some forms of "non-standard" work helping people get a foothold into the job market.
“These new figures point to an increasingly diversified world of work. In some cases, non-standard forms of work can help people get a foothold into the job market. But these emerging trends are also a reflection of the widespread insecurity that’s affecting many workers worldwide today,” he said.
Widespread Insecurity
"But these emerging trends are also a reflection of the widespread insecurity that's affecting many workers worldwide today," he added. Women were a big part of the current trend of rising part-time employment, according to the ILO.
They accounted for 24% of people working less than 30 hours per week across 86 countries – nearly double the percentage of men at 12.4%.
“The shift we’re seeing from the traditional employment relationship to more non-standard forms of employment is in many cases associated with the rise in inequality and poverty rates in many countries,” added Ryder. “What’s more, these trends risk perpetuating the vicious circle of weak global demand and slow job creation that has characterized the global economy and many labor markets throughout the post-crisis period.”
“The way forward is to ensure that policies take into consideration the evolution of how we work today. This means stimulating investment opportunities to boost job creation and productivity, while ensuring adequate income security to all types of workers, not just those on stable contracts,” said Ryder.
Income Gap
The income gap between permanent and non-permanent workers has also increased. Benefits such as pensions and unemployment benefits are still mainly available for permanent employees. The income gap between permanent and non-permanent workers has increased over the past decade. For the self-employed, even pensions are scarce: in 2013, only 16 percent of the self-employed contributed to a pension scheme.
The ILO is calling for policies by governments to ensure income security for all types of workers, not just those on "stable contracts".
"The key issue is to match regulation to an increasingly diversified labor market," said Raymond Torres, director of the ILO research department. "Well-designed regulations can support both economic growth and social cohesion."
Labor Regulation Matters
According to the report’s authors there is a growing recognition that labor regulation is necessary to protect workers – especially those in non-standard work – from arbitrary or unfair treatment and to enable effective contracts between employers and workers.
Employment protection laws have been very gradually strengthening over time, a trend that is common across most countries and regions. However, in Europe, labor protection has generally decreased since 2008 when the global financial crisis started.
“The key issue is to match regulation to an increasingly diversified labor market,” said Raymond Torres, Director of the ILO Research Department and lead author of the report. “Well-designed regulations can support both economic growth and social cohesion.”
