Australian Social Trends, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) look at what’s happening in Australian society across a broad spectrum of issues.

Here at the Gateway we are always interested in the workplace trends and this year the trends show Part-time work is going up at the expense of full-time work and small business.

The proportion of all employed people who were working part-time almost doubled between August 1979 (16%) and August 2009 (30%). The proportion working as casual employees also increased between August 1992 (17%) and August 1996 (20%), but has remained at this level. This information has very clear implications for carers and workplaces as more people will be juggling their work and care commitments.

In contrast, the proportion working as an employee with paid leave entitlements changed slightly between 1992 (62%), 2004 (59%) and 2008 (63%). The overall proportional increase in employees was offset by a proportional decline in owner managers (from 20% in 1992 to 17% in 2008). It seems less people are willing to take on the difficult job of running their own business.

For more information on Australian Social Trends you can visit the ABS website. Workplace issues are covered in the section "Patterns in Work".
http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/4102.0