New survey data shines light on the extent and impacts of precarious employment in BC
The government efforts to develop an effective precarious work strategy for BC—as promised in the 2020 election—are hampered by the lack of data on the scale and impacts of precarious work. To fill this gap, we embarked on our own data collection project, the pilot BC Precarity Survey.
But is it a good job? Understanding precarity in BC
The pilot BC Precarity Survey aimed to address the lack of data on precarious work in British Columbia. The survey, completed by over 3,000 workers aged 25 to 65 in late 2019, provided a snapshot of the provincial labour market just before the COVID-19 pandemic. The study measured precarious employment in two different ways: standard versus non-standard employment and the Employment Precarity Index.
The results showed that 37% of the survey respondents had Precarious jobs, and the burden of precarity fell more heavily on racialized and immigrant communities, Indigenous peoples, women, and lower-income groups.
Half of BC workers lack access to “standard jobs” and 37% are in precarious employment, groundbreaking survey finds
A study released today by the Understanding Precarity in BC partnership reveals a polarized labour market in which precarious work is far more pervasive than many assume and includes much more than “gig work.”
The pilot BC Precarity Survey is the first of its kind in BC, providing new evidence on the scale and unequal impacts of precarious work. The survey was conducted in late 2019 and completed by over 3,000 workers aged 25 to 65, providing a unique snapshot of the provincial labour market just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
