Profile of Employees

Survey respondents are asked a range of questions about their employment status and job readiness, and about their preference for traditional work, alternative work arrangements, and flexible work. The survey also asks respondents whether they feel qualified for their current job.

Permanent/Long-Term and Temporary Employment

In order to assess how young workers are being affected by the increase in temporary jobs, the survey asks about permanent/long-term ("permanent") and temporary job status. In the survey, 78 percent of employees have a permanent job, 14 percent have temporary job, and 7 percent do not know if their job is permanent or temporary (figure 14).³⁵

It is worth noting here that permanent employment is not the same as stable or consistent employment. To this point, 31 percent of employees with a permanent job have work schedules that change daily, weekly, or monthly. Temporary employees are even more likely to have jobs with variable schedules as 55 percent have work schedules that change daily, weekly, or monthly.

In the survey, employees with permanent jobs are more likely to enjoy more positive labor outcomes when compared with employees with temporary jobs. For example, 68 percent of employees with a permanent job are optimistic about their future job opportunities compared with 43 percent of employees with a temporary job (table 22).

Table 22. Labor market outcomes for permanent and temporary employees
Percent

Response	Job is permanent	Job is temporary
Optimistic about future job opportunities	68	43
Working in a career field closely related to education and training	49	26
Job is a "career" or "stepping stone to a career"	70	37
Very satisfied with benefits you currently receive from your employer(s)	57	29
Receive paid time off for sick leave and/or holidays from any of your paid jobs	71	24
Employer pays all or part of health-care premium	54	14
Training opportunities through an employer(s)	48	26

Permanent employees are more likely to be working in a career field that is closely related to their education and training (49 percent) than those with a temporary job (26 percent). Furthermore, employees with permanent jobs are more likely to describe their job as a "career" than "just a job." More specifically, 70 percent of those with permanent employment describe their job as a "career" or a "stepping stone to a career" compared with 37 percent of those with temporary employment (table 22).

The survey asked a number of questions about respondents' employment benefits. Overall, 57 percent of employees with a permanent job are very or somewhat satisfied with the benefits they receive from their employer compared with 29 percent of employees with a temporary job (table 22).

More specifically, 71 percent of employees with a permanent job receive paid time off for sick leave, holidays, or both compared with 24 percent of those with a temporary job. In addition, 54 percent of employees with a permanent job have an employer that contributes to a health insurance plan (paying all or part of the corresponding premium) compared with 14 percent of temporary employees. Finally, 48 percent of permanent employees have training opportunities through their employer compared with 26 percent of temporary employees (table 22).

The data were used to identify key characteristics of employees who are more likely to hold permanent jobs than the 78 percent of overall employees. Eighty-four percent of employees with a bachelor's degree and 95 percent of employees with a master's, professional, or doctorate degree have a permanent job (table 23).

Table 23. Characteristics of employees with permanent jobs

Employee characteristics	Percent with permanent job	Number of responses
Total employees	78	1,027
Educational attainment
Bachelor's degree	84	416
Master's degree, professional, or doctorate	95	176
Early work experience
Worked for pay during high school	82	800
Worked for pay during college	83	847
Held one or more unpaid internship(s) during college	84	174
Held one or more paid internship(s) during college	91	174

In addition, 82 percent of employees who worked for pay during high school and 83 percent of employees who worked for pay during college have a permanent job. Furthermore, 84 percent of those who held an unpaid internship during college and 91 percent of those who held a paid internship during college have a permanent job (table 23).

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Full-Time and Part-Time Employment

In order to assess how young workers are being affected by the increase in part-time work, the survey asks about full-time and part-time job status. In the survey, 75 percent of employees have a full-time job and 25 percent have a part-time job (figure 15).³⁶

The survey data show that 24 percent of full-time employees and 43 percent of part-time employees have paid jobs with non-traditional hours. Furthermore, 29 percent of full-time employees and 56 percent of part-time employees have schedules that change daily, weekly, or monthly. In addition, 65 percent of full-time employees are optimistic about their job future compared with 54 percent of part-time employees (table 24).

Table 24. Labor market outcomes for full-time and part-time employees
Percent

Outcomes	Job is full time	Job is part time
Optimistic about future job opportunities	65	54
Working in a career field closely related to education and training	51	27
Job is a "career" or "stepping stone to a career"	72	38
Very satisfied with benefits you currently receive from your employer(s)	60	25
Receive paid time off for sick leave and/or holidays from any of your paid jobs	75	24
Employer pays all or part of health-care premium	64	9
Training opportunities through an employer(s)	49	22

Employees with a full-time job are more likely to be working in a career field that is closely related to their education and training (51 percent) than part-time employees (27 percent). Again, similar to permanent employees, full-time employees are more likely to consider their main job to be a "career" or a "stepping stone to a career" than their part-time counterparts. More specifically, 72 percent of full-time employees consider their main job to be a career or a stepping stone to a career compared with 38 percent of part-time employees (table 24).

Overall, 60 percent of full-time employees are satisfied with the benefits their employer provides, while 25 percent of part-time employees are satisfied with the benefits their employer provides. In the survey, 75 percent of full-time employees receive paid time off for sick leave, holidays, or both compared with 24 percent of part-time employees. In addition, 64 percent of full-time employees have an employer that contributes to a health insurance plan compared with 9 percent of part-time employees. Finally, 49 percent of full-time employees have training opportunities through their employer compared with 22 percent of part-time employees (table 24). Again, the data were used to identify key characteristics of employees who are more likely to hold full-time jobs than the 75 percent of overall employees.

Higher levels of educational attainment are correlated with full-time jobs. Notably, 85 percent of employees with a bachelor's degree and 90 percent of employees with a master's professional or doctorate degree have a full-time job (table 25).

Table 25. Characteristics of employees with full-time jobs

Characteristics	Percent with full-time job	Number of responses
Total employees	75	986
Educational attainment
Bachelor's degree	85	416
Master's degree, professional, or doctorate	90	176
Early work experience
Worked for pay during high school	79	800
Worked for pay during college	78	847
Held one or more paid internship(s) during college	94	174

Early work experience is associated with many positive labor market outcomes. Seventy-nine percent of employees who worked for pay during high school and 90 percent of employees who worked for pay during college have a full-time job. Furthermore, 94 percent of those who held a paid internship during college have a full-time job. In terms of full-time work, there was no correlation with unpaid internships during college (table 25).

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Underemployment

In order to determine the rate of underemployment among respondents, the survey asks the part-time employees whether they would prefer more work hours.³⁷ Among part-time employees, 49 percent are underemployed or working part time because of economic conditions. More specifically, 42 percent of part-time employees could only find part-time work, and 17 percent had employers cut their hours because of business conditions (11 percent reported both reasons) (table 26).

Table 26. Please indicate whether each of the following is a reason that you are currently working part time rather than full time
Percent, except as noted

Economic reasons/involuntary (underemployed)	49
I could only find part-time work	42
My employer cut my hours due to business conditions	17
Personal preference
I prefer part-time work	42
I am enrolled in a school/training program	39
I have family responsibilities	29
I am caring for young children	21
I have health problems	10
Number of responses	270

Note: Respondents could select more than one reason.

However, 42 percent of part-time employees prefer part-time work, including 39 percent who are enrolled in school and 29 percent who work part time because they have family responsibilities (table 26).

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Multiple Jobs

The survey asks questions to determine the respondents' expectations about working multiple jobs. In the survey, employees expect to have fewer paid jobs in the coming year than they have held in the past year. For example, 63 percent of employees held one full-time job in the past year, yet 80 percent of employees expect to have just one full-time job in the coming year. Likewise, 18 percent of employees had held multiple full-time jobs in the past year, yet 8 percent expect to have multiple full-time jobs in the coming year (figure 16).

The findings are similar for part-time work as 10 percent of employees expect to have more than one part-time job in the coming year, yet 17 percent held multiple part-time jobs in the past year (figure 16).

Among employees who hold multiple jobs, most would prefer to work more jobs at the same time than they have experienced in the past year. In the past year, 39 percent of employees with multiple jobs worked at more than one job at the same time. Yet, 50 percent of employees expect to work more than one job at the same time in the coming year (figure 16).

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Job Qualifications

The survey asks respondents about whether they feel qualified for their current job. Overall, 25 percent of employees describe themselves as overqualified for their job. In 2013, the data showed a correlation between educational attainment level and overqualification such that respondents with postsecondary education were more likely to be overqualified for their job.³⁸ In 2015, the analysis did not show a corrrelation between educational attainment and being overqualified for one's job (table 27).

Table 27. Employees who are "overqualified" for performing the tasks required of your main job (by educational attainment)

"Overqualified" employees	2015 (percent)	Number of responses
Total "overqualified"	25	1,256
Educational attainment
Less than high school	22	35
High school or equivalent	21	221
Some college, no degree	28	219
Certificate or technical degree	26	56
Associate's degree	24	127
Bachelor's degree	30	416
Master's degree	11	136
Professional or doctorate degree	11	40

Note: Small samples sizes for some levels of educational attainment.

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Related Research on Employment

A 2015 Aspen Institute survey of organizations that provide workforce services to young adults revealed that the top five job qualities for "good jobs" are: (1) stable employment (not contract or temporary); (2) full-time work; (3) predictable, set hours; (4) self-sufficiency; and (5) opportunities for advancement and pay increases (4 and 5 are discussed in the Self-Sufficiency section of this report). While these "good jobs" have grown the most in the recovery, it should be noted that almost all good jobs have gone to college graduates.³⁹

According to a 2015 study by ManpowerGroup, job security is critical for millennials who want to ensure they can maintain their standard of living.⁴⁰ Today's young adults are generally not job hoppers, unless there is an opportunity for advancement.⁴¹ Young workers want standard work arrangements, which typically offer higher wages, less income volatility, and more benefits than contingent work.⁴²

Despite young workers' desire for secure employment, the labor market is shifting toward an increased use of alternative work arrangements. A 2016 study by Katz and Krueger found the percentage of workers engaged in alternative work rose from 10.1 percent in February 2005 to 15.8 percent in late 2015. Furthermore, they estimate that all of the net employment growth in the economy during this period occurred in the form of alternative work arrangements.⁴³

Because alternative work arrangements are difficult to classify and measure, the literature does not provide consistent findings about how the increase in alternative work has affected young workers. Katz and Krueger (2016) maintain that despite the noted growth in alternative work incidences between 2005 and 2015, 16- to 24-year-old workers experienced no growth in alternative work arrangements.⁴⁴ However, a 2015 study from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that compared with standard full-time workers, contingent workers are more likely to be young.⁴⁵

In addition, many workers who prefer full-time work are still finding part-time work as their only option. As a result, despite recent job growth, underemployment among young adults has risen, as job opportunities often underutilize their availability to work.

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References

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