For the first time in recorded history, less than half of all working Australians have a permanent full-time job with leave entitlements, new research reveals.

Key points: Report find 'insecure work' the new normal

Report find 'insecure work' the new normal Part-time work on rise, full-time work in decline

Part-time work on rise, full-time work in decline Younger workers facing most difficulties

Younger workers facing most difficulties Call for labour law changes

The Australia Institute's Centre for Future Work has crunched ABS data to find a dramatic rise in "insecure" work in the past five years, with employees missing out on benefits like paid holidays, superannuation and sick leave.

Economists Tanya Carney and Jim Stanford prepared the "Dimensions of Insecure Work" report and analysed data between 2012-17.

They found over that time, paid full-time employment with leave entitlements dropped to 49.97 per cent of all workers.

Meanwhile, part-time work rose to 31.7 per cent of employment — the highest to date — and the rest of the workforce was made up of self-employed, casual and underemployed workers.

"Insecure work has become the new normal," Mr Stanford said.

"I wouldn't even call it an underclass because it is now the majority experiencing this insecurity in one form or another."

2012 2017 Part-time share of total employment 29.7% 31.7% Underemployment as share of total employment 7.6% 9.1% Average hours worked per month 141 139.7 Employees without paid leave entitlements ("casual") 23.5% 25.1% Part-time incidence among self-employed workers 32% 35% Private sector employees covered by current EBAs (% of total) 18.9% 12.4% Temporary migrants with work rights as share labour force 5.2% 6.8% Share of Australians under 30 in full-time employment 42.5% 38.9% Share of all employed in paid full-time employment with leave entitlements 51.35% 49.97%

Source: Centre for Future Work calculations from ABS data

Among the other key findings in the report were younger Australians were suffering most, with full-time work for those under 30 dropping from 42.5 per cent in 2012 to 38.9 per cent in 2017.

And underemployment as share of total employment rose from 7.6 per cent to 9.1 per cent.

"Young workers confront the worst features of the precarious labour market, despite higher educational attainment than any previous cohort of Australians," the report reads.

"Indeed, almost 50 per cent of workers aged 25-34 have completed tertiary education … but the prevalence of insecure work prevents most from applying their skills to the fullest."

Two drivers behind the change

The report looked at ABS and other government data across 11 job "indicators", including wages, incidence of casual work, underemployment and migrant workers.

It found no single indicator revealed the extent of "insecure work" but, taken together, the data confirmed the trend.

It attributed this to two main points: the quantity of work available is inadequate relative to the number of people who need jobs, and the quality of work has been deteriorating.

"Right now you have a situation where workers feel compelled to take any job that's on offer, even if the hours are irregular and the security is non-existent," Mr Stanford said.

"We have to have a stronger job market so that people feel that they can say no."

Mr Stanford also advocated changing labour laws to ensure workers in insecure jobs had more protections, including minimum wages.

"I don't believe this is inevitable," he said.

"Australia's experience is quite unusual compared to other industrialised countries and I think we really could turn things around with some proactive policy intervention."

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