Deck 4: Good Jobs, Bad Jobs, No Jobs

Question 1

Which of the following best characterizes occupational status?

A) Occupations with better extrinsic rewards often have higher status.
B) Occupational status is not related to income.
C) Occupations requiring higher levels of skill always have higher status.
D) Occupational status is synonymous with job security.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following groups are excluded from the official definition of unemployment?

A) People not looking for work because they believe there are no jobs available.
B) People receiving Employment Insurance (formerly Unemployment Insurance).
C) The disabled who are actively looking for a job.
D) Students who are actively looking for a part-time job.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following best describes occupational differences in non-wage benefits in Canada?

A) The majority of part-time and full-time workers have a pension plan.
B) Professionals are more likely to have a group RRSP than marketing/sales workers.
C) A similar percentage of nonunionized and unionized workers have access to life/disability insurance.
D) The proportion of workers with medical insurance is similar across all occupations.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Approximately what proportion of employed Canadians worked part-time in 2012?

A) About 5 percent.
B) About 20 percent.
C) About 40 percent.
D) About 50 percent.

Question 5

Which of the following is correct about the average number of hours worked per week in Canada today?

A) Fewer employed Canadians are working part-time compared to several decades ago.
B) Part-time employment rates declined during the recessions of 1981-82 and 1990-92.
C) Compared to a decade or two ago, more Canadians are working part-time and more are also working more than 40 hours per week.
D) The average number of hours worked per week declined until the 1950s, and then slowly increased again.

Question 6

According to Monica Boyd's socioeconomic status (SES) scale, which of the following occupations would have the lowest score?

A) Hairstylists.
B) Doctors.
C) Nannies.
D) Receptionists.

Question 7

Which of the following is correct about job quality?

A) There are universal standards of job quality.
B) Pay is the sole indicator of what can be considered a "good job."
C) All nonstandard occupations can be considered "bad jobs."
D) Job quality is determined both by job characteristics and personal preferences.

Question 8

Lijuan has a Bachelor of Education degree. Over the past five years she has worked at several jobs including child-care worker, tutor, and nursery school teacher. She has also experienced several periods of unemployment between these jobs. Which of the following best describes Lijuan's unemployment history?

A) Structural unemployment.
B) Cyclical unemployment.
C) Frictional unemployment.
D) Regional unemployment.

Question 9

Which of the following is an example of an extrinsic job reward?

A) Job satisfaction.
B) Diversity in day-to-day tasks.
C) Health benefits.
D) Autonomy on the job.

Question 10

Which of the following best characterizes income differences across industries in Canada?

A) On average, goods-producing industries pay less than service industries.
B) Earnings in manufacturing are higher than in resource extraction.
C) There is a large amount of variation in income within the service sector.
D) Incomes in construction are among the highest in any industry.

Question 11

Which of the following is not an example of an "additional employment benefit?"

A) Paid vacation.
B) Sick leave.
C) Life insurance.
D) Performance pay.

Question 12

Sally works part-time at a local farm while on her summer vacation from school. Which of the following does not describe her job?

A) Nonstandard work.
B) Limited-term contract work.
C) Seasonal work.
D) Temporary work.

Question 13

Which of the following is correct about nonstandard employment in Canada?

A) Close to 60 percent of employed Canadians are now in nonstandard jobs.
B) Self-employment rates have been declining steadily since the 1990s.
C) Temporary (contract) work is the most common form of nonstandard work.
D) For the past two decades, part-time employment rates have remained just below 20 percent.

Question 14

Which of the following is correct about the female-male earnings ratio in Canada?

A) Women and men earn equal pay in most occupations.
B) The gender wage gap has not declined over the past several decades.
C) Female teachers and professors earn more than their male counterparts.
D) Differences in the gender wage gap vary considerably across occupations.

Question 15

Which of the following is correct about self-employment in Canada?

A) More people were self-employed in 2012 than in the mid-20th century.
B) Self-employment in the secondary and service sectors has increased over the past few decades.
C) There are more self-employed employers than own-account self-employed.
D) Women are more likely to be self-employed than men.

Question 16

Which of the following is correct about part-time employment in Canada?

A) Part-time employment rates have remained stable over the past few decades.
B) There are more men than women working part-time in Canada.
C) The part-time employment rate is higher for workers under the age of 25.
D) Part-time employment for women 25 and over has increased dramatically in the past few decades.

Question 17

Which of the following is correct about Canadian unemployment trends?

A) Unemployment rates in the past decade have generally been higher than they were in the 1980s and 1990s.
B) Youth unemployment rates have been systematically higher than adult rates for the past few decades.
C) There are few noteworthy regional differences in unemployment rates.
D) Unemployment was higher in the 1980s than in any other decade in the past century.

Question 18

Which of the following is correct about the additional employment benefits received by Canadian workers?

A) Full-time employees are two to three times more likely than part-time employees to receive additional employment benefits.
B) The cost to employers of providing such benefits declined during the second half of the 20th century.
C) Most employees have a dental plan, but only a small minority have pension plans.
D) Employers often "even things out" by providing more benefits to lower paid workers.

Question 19

Which of the following best describes "cyclical unemployment"?

A) The ongoing movement of workers in and out of jobs as they try to find employment that best fits their skills and aspirations.
B) Unemployment rates rising during recessions and declining as the economy recovers.
C) Unemployment rates rising due to increased levels of immigration.
D) Unemployment rates rising because of changing work values.

Question 20

The term involuntary part-time worker best describes which of the following?

A) Workers who cannot find a full-time job.
B) Individuals who prefer to work part-time.
C) Individuals who have significant family responsibilities.
D) Students who work part-time while in school.

Question 21

Based on what you have read in Chapter 4, describe how the types of jobs a Canadian might have expected to obtain have changed over the course of the 20th century. How have the chances of being jobless changed over this time?

Question 22

Briefly outline how unemployment rates vary by gender, age, and region in Canada.

Question 23

Based on the trends you have read about in Chapters 3 and 4, describe what you see as the most pressing issues facing Canadian employers and workers for the next few decades to come?

Question 24

Briefly outline historical trends in self-employment in Canada. Distinguish between self-employed employers and own-account self-employment.

Question 25

What is meant by the term nonstandard employment? In a few sentences explain the trends in nonstandard employment in Canada in recent years.

Question 26

In recent years the topic of job quality has received increased public attention. Why is job quality important? How do we differentiate between "good" and "bad" jobs? How are they distributed across occupations and industries? What are the implications of job quality trends for employers and workers?