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Workforce profile
Part-time employees
At June 2007, 11.7% of ongoing employees were working part-time, up slightly from 11.3% last year. Women are still much more likely to work part-time, with 18.1% working part-time at June 2007 compared with 3.3% of men, although the proportion of men working part-time has increased slightly over time. These trends are shown in Figure 2.5.
Non-ongoing employees are much more likely to work part-time, with 24.2% of all non-ongoing employees working part-time at June 2007. As for ongoing employees, the proportion of non-ongoing employees working part-time is higher for women, with 27.9% of non-ongoing women working part-time at June 2007, compared with 18.3% of non-ongoing men.
Centrelink is the largest employer of part-timers in the APS, with 5,039 or 30.0% of all ongoing part-time employees in the APS at June 2007. This group accounted for 18.9% of all Centrelink’s ongoing employees. Other agencies with large numbers of part-time employees are ATO (2,084 or 9.8% of its ongoing employees), DHS (1,204 or 20.0%), Medicare Australia (1,191 or 20.9%) and DAFF (857 or 18.5%).8
Figure 2.5: Proportion of ongoing employees working part-time by sex, 1993 to 2007
Figure 2.5 shows the proportion of ongoing employees who are working part-time, by sex, from 1993 to 2007. Over the period, the proportion working part-time has increased for both men and women, with women’s representation being much higher than men’s.
Source: APSED
Part-time work by age
Part-time work for women continues to be highest in the 30–44 age group, with 25.3% of ongoing women in this age group working part-time at June 2007. For men, the proportion in this age group working part-time was 3.8%. Workers aged 45 years and over are less likely to work part-time, with 3.1% of men and 14.3% of women in this age group working part-time at June 2007. Older workers (i.e. those aged 55 years and over), however, are more likely to work part-time as they age (as shown in Figure 2.6).
Figure 2.6: Proportion of ongoing employees working part-time by age group and sex, June 2007
Figure 2.6 shows the proportion of ongoing employees working part-time, by age group and sex, at June 2007. Part-time employment peaks in the 30–44 age group, with a secondary peak for employees aged over 60.
Source: APSED
The trend towards part-time work for older workers, noted in last year’s report, appears to have steadied. The proportion of employees aged 60 and over working part-time fell slightly from 9.0% at June 2006 to 8.9% at June 2007. For those aged 55–59, the proportion rose slightly from 6.8% to 7.0%.
8 In this report, unlike in previous years, APSED data for DAFF includes the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS).
