Lasting disadvantage? Comparing career trajectories of matched temporary and permanent workers in Canada

Is the economic insecurity associated with temporary employment transitory or lasting? What accounts for differences in medium-run earnings trajectories for workers first observed in temporary and permanent jobs? Although there is now a considerable body of research investigating mobility outcomes for temporary workers, most studies focus on single transition points and pay little attention to the quality of subsequent employment beyond its temporary or permanent status. In this paper, we compare income trajectories for a nationally representative sample of Canadian temporary workers and a set of permanent workers selected to match them as closely as possible on personal, job, and work-history characteristics. We find that temporary workers start out with lower incomes and fail to catch up to their permanent counterparts over the next five years. Differences are more pronounced for women.