Investigating Precarious Employment in Rural Ontario Thank you You might remember me from last year – that was year 1 … this is year 2… Valencia Gaspard, PhD Student University of Guelph

A reminder - what is it? Unpredictable work schedules High turnover (quicker termination) Impermanent jobs Low employee engagement Low-paying Low worker advocacy (no Union or collective voice) No or little benefits Neoliberal employment trend No training/opportunities Remember the principles of precarious employment …

The Team Dr. Al Lauzon Carol Kenny Dr. Heather Mair Dr. Miana Plesca Dr. Ray Bollman Dr. Ryan Gibson The Advisory Group

The Plan Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Contextual Analysis Case Studies Review employment trends 1999-2015 Consider different census divisions Contextual Analysis What is the precarious work experience in rural communities? Key informant interviews Case Studies Capture experiences Discuss success strategies Report Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 We’re wrapping up phase 1 --working with a team of researchers: -Dr. Al Lauzon -Dr. Heather Mair -Dr. Ryan Gibson -Dr. Ray Bollman -Dr. Miana Plesca -Carol Kenny - and are into phase 2, we hit the ground running with Key Informant Interviews Now we have engaged our Advisory Group – so we have some trends identified based on the Stats Can data and we’d like to know if this holds true ‘on the ground’ in communities – we’re moving into KIIs What have we learned in phase 1?

What have we learned? Difference in trends between metro, partially-non-metro, and non-metro parts of Ontario

It’s happening.

Approximately 450 000 Ontarians work on term or contract – you can see the increasing during the 2008 financial crisis RayD.Bollman@sasktel.net

RayD.Bollman@sasktel.net

RayD.Bollman@sasktel.net

RayD.Bollman@sasktel.net

RayD.Bollman@sasktel.net

RayD.Bollman@sasktel.net

Self-Employment

RayD.Bollman@sasktel.net

Out of the folks who work for themselves, most are unincorporated and have no paid help --- this is the demographic of self-employed Ontarians who would be considered precariously self employed RayD.Bollman@sasktel.net

Self-Employment Number self-employed people in Ontario is increasing Percent self-employed was highest in late 1990s, then declined somewhat to mid- 2000s, increased somewhat during 2008-2009 recession and has not increased since then When things get tough, people work for themselves * Increasing numbers in o Self-employed, incorporated, with paid help o Self-employed, incorporated, without paid help o Self-employed, unincorporated, with no paid help o But o Declining numbers in self-employed, unincorporated, with paid help

Hearing the stories. www.ruralprecariousemployment.wordpress.com