As a recruitment agency that specializes in temp, temp-to-hire, permanent and contract placements, we have a well-rounded understanding of the pros and cons of different employment positions.

However, it seems as if lately the options in Ontario have been limited.

Newspaper headlines which read “Unemployment down from 7.4% to 7.3% since May” paint a misleading picture. Statistics Canada states that unemployment has slid from over 555,000 people to under 549,000 during the month of April 2014. However, the real question becomes what is considered “employment”.

The numerical breakdown is that More than 30,000 full-time jobs disappeared, while part-time positions climbed by 45,000. Meaning that any growth in employment during the past year can really, only be attributed to part-time positions.

So is this a positive trend or will this shift toward temporary employment have negative effects on the Canadian job market? The fact of the matter is that there are pros and cons to both sides.

Temporary Employment Pros

As an employer, Hiring individuals on a temporary basis has many advantages. For example, hiring temporary workers is a good way for companies to fill “extra positions”, if someone is quitting or going on maternity leave. Temporary employment can also be a good way to test out new employees to find out if they are a good fit for the company before hiring them permanently.

As an employee, working at a temporary position is a good way to gain experience and valuable job skills. You are also able to make new connections and essentially “test-drive” a position. Without a permanent employment contract you are able to work at a company and see if you like the culture and job requirements. Temporary employment leaves you with a lot of flexibility to stay or leave a certain company depending on your needs and wants. Lastly, as a temp you aren’t constantly fighting office politics and competing with other to get ahead, you are simply there to do a specific task for a predetermined amount of time.

Temporary Employment Cons

As an employer, Often times it takes longer to train a new temporary worker then it does to retrain, or teach a permanent worker new skills. Also, when hiring temporary workers, it is often the case that they will be less motivated to take initiative to work harder on the assigned task, since there is less reward for them to go above and beyond.

As an employee, although your job is more flexible it is also much less stable. When you are not able to plan ahead in your career it is often stressful, particularly when you are not able to find a new temp job before your current one ends.  Permanent workers working for the same company may treat you as a second class citizen, since they are assuming that you will be leaving soon anyway. It is possible that you won’t be given a chance to be a part of the companies “inner circle”.

Permanent Employment Pros

As an employer, you can count on a level of stability. Hiring permanent workers sometimes increases morale. When workers feel that a company is heavily invested in them they may feel more invested in the company.

As an employee, one of the main benefits is job security. You can rest assured that as long as you are doing your job, it is very unlikely that you will find yourself unemployed. Lastly, as a permanent employee you have lots of room to grow within a company.

Permanent Employment Cons

As an employer, As mentioned above, when hiring someone on as permanent staff there are a lot of financial, technical and administrative commitments you must make. Which leaves you vulnerable in case an employee isn’t working out.

As an Employee, you are tied down, at some point you may not be able to progress further in your career but will be unable to easily move to a new position without “wasting’ the years you have already invested at your current company.