United Kingdom
Insecure at work
Key points
- Almost half of the men, and a third of the women, making a new claim for Jobseeker's Allowance were last claiming this benefit less than six months ago. In other words, almost half of men who find work, and a third of women, no longer have that work six months later. This shows the short-term nature of the jobs that many unemployed people go into.
- These proportions are similar to a decade ago.
- The vast majority of part-time employees – 85% – do not want a full-time job. By contrast, only 25% of temporary employees do not want a permanent job. This suggests that, whereas part-time employment is generally a positive choice, temporary employment is often not.
- At 1.5 million, the number of people in temporary contracts is somewhat lower the a decade ago, when the figure stood at 1.8 million.
- The proportion of workers belonging to a trade union is lower among low paid employees than among any other pay group. Only one in seven workers earning less than £7 an hour belong to a trade union compared with two-fifths of those earning £10 to £20 an hour.
Graph 1: Job insecurity
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Graph 2: Temporary/part-time
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Graph 3: Temporary contracts
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Graph 4: Union membership
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Why this indicator was originally chosen
Deregulation of the labour market has made it easier for employers both to take workers on and to lay them off. If employers face few barriers or disincentives to take workers on, then the overall level of employment should increase as long as skill levels in the labour force meet employer demands. However, employer flexibility also creates insecurity of employment for a large section of the UK workforce. Frequent movements in and out of employment, indeed in and out of low paid work, is the normal experience of many workers, predominantly those with below average skill levels.
The chosen indicator of work insecurity is 'the proportion of people making a new claim for unemployment benefit who were last claiming less than six months ago.
Definitions and data sources
The first graph tackles insecurity at work through the issue of people who find themselves taking a succession of jobs interspersed with periods of unemployment. It shows the probability that someone who makes a new claim for Jobseeker's Allowance was last claiming that benefit less than six months previously. This is effectively the same as the proportion of people finding work who then lose that work within six months. Figures are shown separately for men and women. The data relates to Great Britain and, for each year, is taken from the first quarter of the Joint Unemployment and Vacancies Operating System (JUVOS) cohort.
The second graph shows the principal reasons that people give for taking part-time work or temporary work. In each case, the main point of interest is those taking these forms of work who would prefer, respectively, full-time or permanent work.
The third graph shows the number of temporary workers who are of working age. A temporary employee is one who said that his/her main job is non-permanent in one of the following ways: fixed period contracts; agency temping; casual work; seasonal work; and other temporary work.
The fourth graph shows the proportion of people currently employed who are members of a trade union or staff association, with the data shown separately by level of pay.
The data source for the second to fourth graphs is the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and relates to the United Kingdom. In the second and third graphs, the data is the average for the latest three years. The figures in the fourth graph are for the fourth quarter of the 2007 Labour Force Survey (the data is only collected in the fourth quarter).
Overall adequacy of the indicator: high. Note, however, that while the claimant count data is sound, the narrow definition of unemployment that it represents means that it understates the extent of short-term working interspersed with spells of joblessness.
External links
See the Joseph Rowntree Foundation 'findings' on job insecurity and pathways through unemployment.
Relevant 2007 Public Service Agreements
None directly relevant.
The numbers
Graph 1
| Year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 37% | 28% |
| 1991 | 30% | 24% |
| 1992 | 35% | 29% |
| 1993 | 39% | 31% |
| 1994 | 43% | 33% |
| 1995 | 45% | 34% |
| 1996 | 43% | 33% |
| 1997 | 49% | 38% |
| 1998 | 48% | 36% |
| 1999 | 46% | 36% |
| 2000 | 46% | 35% |
| 2001 | 47% | 35% |
| 2002 | 44% | 34% |
| 2003 | 44% | 34% |
| 2004 | 45% | 34% |
| 2005 | 45% | 34% |
| 2006 | 44% | 32% |
| 2007 | 49% | 36% |
| 2008 | 47% | 35% |
Graph 2
| Reason | Part-time employees | Temporary employees |
|---|---|---|
| Could not find | 12% | 27% |
| Did not want | 85% | 26% |
| Other reasons | 3% | 47% |
Graph 3
| Temporary employees (thousands) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Male | Female | All |
| 1997 | 800 | 970 | 1,770 |
| 1998 | 790 | 950 | 1,730 |
| 1999 | 780 | 900 | 1,680 |
| 2000 | 780 | 920 | 1,690 |
| 2001 | 750 | 890 | 1,640 |
| 2002 | 710 | 860 | 1,580 |
| 2003 | 690 | 820 | 1,510 |
| 2004 | 700 | 800 | 1,490 |
| 2005 | 660 | 750 | 1,410 |
| 2006 | 650 | 790 | 1,440 |
| 2007 | 670 | 790 | 1,450 |
Graph 4
| Hourly pay | % membership |
|---|---|
| <£7 | 14% |
| £7 to £10 | 28% |
| £10 to £15 | 40% |
| £15 to £20 | 44% |
| >£20 | 30% |