A Part-Time Recovery Ctd.
More from Sylvain:
The part-time rate in February 2011 -Â 19.7% of the workforce working part-time – fell just short of the highest levels ever recorded in July and August 2010.
Not only has part-time work risen in the recession and recovery, it has been clearly driven by the lack of full-time jobs.
265,900 non-seasonally adjusted part time jobs were added to the economy between February 2008 and February 2011. Out of that total, the number of Canadians working part-time on a voluntary basis decreased by 35,400. On the other hand, the number of Canadians working part-time because of business conditions or because they could not find full-time work increased dramatically from 668,300 in February 2008 to 969,700 in February 2011, This growth in involuntary part-time work represents an increase of almost 50% over 3 years. In fact, part-time job growth in the last 3 years can be entirely attributed to the growth in involuntary part-time work.
A question for Sylvain:
If you add close to 1 million involuntary part-timers to the 1.4 million unemployed, you get more than the 11.7% real (extended) unemployment rate, without considering discouraged workers, etc. Presumably they are discounting involuntary part-timers in calculating the extended unemployment rate? Can you confirm?
In calculation of real extended unemployment rate with involuntary part timers and discouraged workers, the denominator is adjusted accordingly and increases the size of the labour force. As a result, the rate is lower than what you estimated
The extended rate is based on the hours gap between the hours of part-timers and the full time jobs they want ie it is not a simple total of unemployed and underemployed