"Retailers are relying on part-time workers, a trend that has frustrated millions of Americans who want full-time jobs but must instead settle for reduced pay and benefits.
The widening use of part-timers has been a bane to many workers, pushing many into poverty and forcing some onto food stamps and Medicaid. And with work schedules that change week to week, workers can find it hard to arrange child care, attend college or hold a second job, according to interviews with more than 40 part-time workers.
To be sure, many people prefer to work part time —for instance, college students eager for extra spending money and older people earning money for presents during the holiday season.
But in two leading industries —retailing and hospitality —the number of part-timers who would prefer to work full-time has jumped to 3.1 million, or two-and-a-half times the 2006 level, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In retailing alone, nearly 30 percent of part-timers want full-time jobs, up from 10.6 percent in 2006. The agency found that in the retail and wholesale sector, which includes hundreds of thousands of small stores that rely heavily on full-time workers, about 3 in 10 employees work part-time.
Retailers and restaurants use so many part-timers not only because it gives them more flexibility, but because it significantly cuts payroll costs."
http://nyti.ms/Pyeplc
No comments:
Post a Comment