Shift to part-time work set to continue

An explosion in part-time work and self-employment will create 1.6 million jobs over the next decade but there will be virtually no increase in full-time employment, according to a report published this morning, writes Michael Harrison.

The proportion of women in the labour force will continue to rise as lower-paid jobs in the service sector grow and down-sizing and contracting out forces men out of traditional full-time employment.

The survey by Business Strategies forecasts that 790,000 people will opt for self-employment between now and 2006 while another 725,000 will go into part-time work. Employers will create just 45,000 extra full- time jobs, suggesting that the restructuring of large parts of traditional industry is by no means complete.

Women will continue to dominate part-time work, accounting for 79 per cent of all such jobs, the survey says.