The analysis conducted focussed on three population groups that can arguably benefit most from flexible working arrangements such as part-time employment – parents, disabled individuals and older workers. We estimated the demand for quality part-time work (defined as paying £11.17 per hour using the minimum income standards reports and romania rcs data the LFS), supply of individuals with sufficient qualifications (NQF Level 2) to expect to earn above this pay threshold (estimating potential unsatisfied demand equal to 521,000), and the effect of entering quality part-time employment on poverty rates based on the HBAI threshold (poverty amongst workless single parent households falls from 70% to 10%). For more information, see this blog I wrote summarising our analysis.
Other projects I have worked on look into the root causes of these issues, including poor quality employment and education opportunities, particularly amongst disadvantaged groups.
To support the launch of the Commission on the Future of Employment Support, I performed analysis of the LFS looking at the duration of worklessness, when considering poverty and deprivation. I found that economic inactivity is rising most among those who are long-term workless, suggesting that falling participation in the labour force is being driven by fewer people entering work – and so moving into longer-term worklessness – more than it is by people leaving work.