Charting America's Transformation To A Part-Time Worker Society (The part-timeization of America)

Zero Hedge ^ | 12/14/2010 | Tyler Durden

[SeekAndFind]

It is surprising that over the past several years very little has been said in the popular media about the fact that America is slowly (but surely) transforming from a full-time to part-time employed society. And while much has been said about the temporary and now past impact of census hiring, and government jobs on the workforce, there are still few mentions in mainstream media that since the depression started in December 2007, America has lost 10.5 million full time jobs, offset by a 2.8 million increase in part time jobs. Two recent mentions of this extremely troubling phenomenon were those by David Stockman, who characterized the recent unjustified economic (and naturally market) euphoria in terms that could have come straight from David Rosenberg's mouth, and, more recently, Van Hoisington. And since the Teleprompter in Chief has now made it a monthly pilgirmage to extol the NFP number no matter how manipulated by Birth-Death and seasonal adjustments, perhaps next time someone can ask him why the US not only lost 478k seasonally adjusted full time workers in November but has lost full time jobs for 6 months in a row, for a total of 1.6 million job losses! And since it is now clear that Americans only watch cartoons when it comes to financial reporting, and, at worst, demand a chart, here is, straight from the BLS' table A-9, the historical change of the US labor force.

And here is the sequential change in both full and part-time jobs. Note that after peaking in April and May, full time jobs have declined for 6 straight months:

In a nutshell: in December 2007 there were 121.7 million full time jobs, while 24.8 million Americans were part-time workers for economic reasons; fast forward to November 2010 where we find that 111.1 million employees are now full time, while the rank of the part-times have increased to 27.6 million. And it is not rocket science, that converting a population to part-time workers has a disastrous impact on wealth. As Stockman presented previously, discussing part-time employment "with an average wage of $20,000 a year, that is not a breadwinning job, you can't support a family on that, you can't save on that. Those jobs will not generate income that will become self-feeding into spending." Yet more and more people are forced to work part-time, even as full time working Americans are now at their lowest since February 2010. But for some odd reason the market remains transfixed that 39k very much adjusted and completely unrealistic people may have found a job on private payrolls in November, even as full time jobs dropped by 478k.

We can only hope that now that it has been charted for them, some of the less than captured MSM outlets will take this information and present it to the broader public which, when watching CNBC or tracking the S&P may get the impression that things are actually improving in the USSA.

[jazminerose]

Obamanomics has driven many people to taking 2, even 3 part time jobs just to stay afloat.

And how many people are operating small businesses, some very small, ie lone wolf operators doing things like fixing computers, yard work, etc. that never get counted in any analysis? I think a lot of people who have been laid off end up marketing their skills completely on their own. Like the construction worker who now goes around removing trash from bank owned houses & boarding up windows, that kind of thing. That’s the work Americans “are” willing to do & the bank paying them will at least require a W-9.

That’s a pretty invisible group, I suspect.

[libertarian27]

The job ads are filled with part-time, per diem and limited contract work. Not many decent full time positions being advertised.

With mandatory insurance coverage looming- these part-timers (even looping a bunch of jobs together to push the hours)will be forced into mandatory private buy insurance which, depending on your state, has very limited choices and, for the most part, very expensive.

Tort reform and state line cross-purchasing had to be addressed with insurance in this part-time job market. It wasn’t.

[LomanBill]

Rut Ro...

If the Proletariat aren't kept busy scratching for chicken feed FULL time, that means they'll have more time on their hands to contemplate the nature of things....

And that never works out well for the Vanguard Elite in the Farm House, who might just find "their" supply of Milk and Apples... isn't as reliable as the insatiable Tyranny of their Appetite requires.

They might wake up one day to discover the only thing delivered to them is a big sign that says "NO SOUP FOR YOU!"

[2nd Bn, 11th Mar]

I’m part-time but in a different category. Consider myself fortunate, in that I’m able to work part-time by choice. In 2008 I chucked all the stress of being management and just did consulting type work. No more lost sleep or accelerated pulse rate. More time for fishing.

[doodad]

I see this almost exclusively now as I try to find a job. No one wants to pay benefits and are so tight they can’t afford full time help. And the pay is always below or on par with unemployment. I estimate I can last one more year, barring disaster, to still have a house. Spending money on gas etc to make less than UI pays is not sensible at this time. Flame me if you must, but I have to look at this on my family’s behalf at this time.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Federal, state, and local laws and regulations relating to full-time employees are heavily punitive to small businesses. Part-time employees impose fewer demands on the employer. Hiring full-time employees is akin to economic suicide right now, except for big companies who belong to the "Aristocracy of Pull".

What did politicians and regulators think was going to happen to the economy when they wrote laws and codes with union bosses standing over their right shoulders giving directions? Apparently they were too dumb to think beyond the short-term benefit they were getting - support for their re-election campaigns.

[LomanBill]

[Consider myself fortunate, in that I’m able to work part-time by choice.]

It’s warm out in the Light, isn’t it, Sparticus?

I will NEVER be a cube slave again.

[freekitty]

This should tell everyone that our leaders and others in the world do not want productive societies. They want controlled societies of slavery.

[Lazlo in PA]

I guess the new Obummer economy considers this a manufacturing job. Swell.

[ssaftler]

I guess the new Obummer economy considers this a manufacturing job. Swell.

I dunno. This looks like one of those "shovel-ready" Porkulous projects that nObama told us about last year.

[PGalt]

Interesting post and off-topic discussions at ZH. Thanks. (Yes, I read all comments)

[madison10]

No way would I flame you. You are doing the best with a bad situation and making the most $$$ for your family. The gasoline eats up the “profit,” if there is any.