Precarious Employment in British Columbia : Effects, Economic Indicators, and Policy Responses

This report provides an introduction to the concept of precarious employment and summarizes empirical findings in the Canadian literature. Precarious workers have poor physical and mental health, delay forming relationships and starting families, are often underemployed and isolated from their communities, and experience high levels of employment discrimination. This report then investigates three broad economic indicators of precarious employment in British Columbia: the size of firms and organizations, the union coverage rate of workers, and hourly wages. When possible, this data is compared with information available through Statistics Canada about employment status, age, gender, industry, and geographic location to determine which workers are more likely to be precariously employed and where they are most likely to be. Lastly, this report makes recommendations to governments and employers wanting to increase employment security. Based off examples in other jurisdictions, these recommendations include ensuring that workers have consistent and predictable work schedules, are able to access quality and flexible childcare, and receive equal medical and pension benefits to permanent full-time workers even if they are part-time or temporary