From The Globe and Mail Canada: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/canadas-shift-to-a-temp-worker-nation/article11721139/
TAVIA GRANT
May. 05 2013
It’s not just a perception: Temporary work really is growing at a faster pace than permanent positions.
The number of temporary workers in Canada hit a record two million last year, according to Statistics Canada. That amounts to 13.6 per cent of the work force compared with 11.3 per cent in 1997, when such record-keeping began.
And since the recession, temporary work has grown at more than triple the pace than permanent employment – up 14.2 per cent for temp work between 2009 and 2012, versus 3.8 per cent for permanent workers.
A detailed breakdown shows most of the growth in temp work in the past decade and a half has been among young people. Temporary positions are most prevalent in education, culture and the accommodation and food services sector. By province, most of the growth in temp work has been in British Columbia and Ontario.
Contract work gives many employers a more flexible work force, leaving them more nimble in responding to the ebbs and flows of demand in a bumpy economy. And it may suit some highly skilled people who don’t want to be tied down to one employer.
But for many workers who’ve had to hop from one contract to another, like Meghan Empey, the uncertainty has spelled financial strain.
Continue reading at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/canadas-shift-to-a-temp-worker-nation/article11721139/
