economy
FULL-TIME COMMITMENT TO PART-TIME WORK To some, part-time work has negative connotations; the reality is that it plays an important role within any dynamic labour market.
There are numerous reasons why someone might not choose to work full-time: to pursue further education, care for a loved one, recover from an illness or injury, or simply because it’s a personal preference. Of course, some people work part-time because they can’t find full-time work—and if this share is high or rising, it’s indicative of labour market weakness. This makes sense: if people are willing and able to contribute to the economy in a capacity greater than their current utilization but they can’t find an opportunity to do so, there exists an opportunity cost.
The good news is that since August 2021, the number of part-time workers who would have preferred full-time work has accounted for less than 20% of all part-time workers, most recently falling to 14%. This contrasts against an average of 23% during the balance of the pandemic, and a high of 26% in July 2020. The current share is now consistent with its long-run (pre-pandemic) level—yet another piece of evidence that our labour market is functioning more efficiently today than it has at any point over the past two years.
NOT UNREASONABLE REASONS FOR WORKING PART-TIME
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Feb Mar Apr May
Jul Jun Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Jul Jun Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jan Feb
COULD NOT FIND FULL TIME WORK
OTHER REASONS
DATA: PROPORTION OF PART-TIME WORKERS BY REASON FOR PART-TIME, MONTHLY, BC SOURCE: LABOUR FORCE SURVEY, STATISTICS CANADA
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