The number of workers stringing together part-time jobs because they can’t find full-time employment remains at historically high levels more than five years after the recession ended, another sign that the economic recovery has yet to reach millions of people in New England and across the country.
Historically, the numbers of so-called involuntary part-time workers increase during recessions and their immediate aftermaths as companies cut hours and cautiously add employees.
Once the economy picks up, those numbers typically fall quickly.
“It is a cause for alarm,” said John Silvia, chief economist for Wells Fargo & Co., in Charlotte, N.C. “I don’t think since World War II we’ve seen this kind of dislocation.”
Silvia and other economists worry that the high levels of involuntary part-time work indicate a “new normal” in which companies increasingly rely on part-time rather than full-time employees, much as they have replaced full-time, permanent positions with temporary or contract workers.
As with temps and contractors, having more part-timers allows employers to cut costs, since the workers often do not qualify for health insurance and other benefits.
Its also increases employers’ flexibility to ramp up or cut their workforces as economic conditions change, economists said.
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