> WHEN "JOB" MEANS PART-TIME, LIFE BECOMES QUITE DIFFERENT

More than one million of the 1.2 million jobs added this year in the USA are part-time and part-time jobs now represent 18 percent of the overall job market, the highest level since 1997. Many economists and other experts say that most of the jobs being offered are part-time because of economic uncertainty, changing markets and employers' efforts to save money. Some workers take these jobs because they cannot find full-time work but need some income, while others cite other factors, like a desire to spend more time with family or to have a flexible schedule.

Whatever the cause, the high number of part-time jobs today has important implications for job seekers as part-time jobs often come without social benefits. Along with the scarcity of benefits, part-time workers - those working less than 35 hours a week - often have lower hourly wages and little or no paid vacation or sick leave.

Joe Catanzaro had no health insurance and suffered for it last year. He endured five days of headaches and visual problems. But instead of seeing a doctor immediately he waited until he could no longer stand the pain and then went to a nearby hospital. The headache turned out to be the result of a serious brain disease. He took two weeks off, without pay, from his part-time job while he recovered.

[Chuck Harner, 63, worked for 15 years as a manager before he was laid off in 2001. He has a doctorate in mathematics but spent the next 18 months searching fruitlessly for full-time work. In April 2003 he found a 12-hour-a-week job at a supermarket where he does everything from sweeping the floors to selling books and records. As a manager, he made more than $100,000 annually. Now he earns about $7 an hour. ]

Still, some workers like part-time work because of the flexibility it affords. Lana Caywood, 49, a teacher, is happily employed three days a week at an elementary school. She likes it because it gives her time for her family.

Flexibility is important for many workers. In a 2004 survey of 946 full-time professionals 39 percent said that they would definitely accept a job paying up to 10 percent less but offering more work-life balance. And 87 percent said that they looked for flexible hours in a new job. The part-time marketplace is also more accommodating for the laid-off textile worker seeking to retrain, the baby boomer who wants to spend more time with family and the senior citizen who is not ready to retire.

Source: The New York Times October 10, 2004 (adapted)

VOCABULARY
overall: total
schedule: horaire
scarcity: le manque de
sick leave: congé maladie
to turn out to be: se révéler être
to be laid off: être licencié
to seek to: chercher à
baby boomer: personne née lors du baby-boom qui a suivi la fin de la seconde guerre mondiale

> TRAVAIL A FAIRE PAR LE CANDIDAT

A- Répondez en français aux questions suivantes, en utilisant uniquement les informations contenues dans le texte et en justifiant vos réponses.

1 - Que nous apprend le début de cet article sur la situation de l'emploi aux Etats-Unis (1)?

2. Quelles sont les raisons avancées par les experts pour expliquer cette situation? (1.5)

3. Quelles sont, pour les salariés, les difficultés liées aux emplois à temps partiel? (1.5)

4. En quoi le cas de Joe Catanzaro est-il représentatif des difficultés rencontrées par les salariés à temps partiel aux Etats-Unis? (1)

5. Pourquoi Lana Caywood apprécie-t-elle de ne pas travailler à temps plein? (1)

6. Qu'a révélé l'enquête sur la flexibilité du travail menée en 2004? (1)

7. Pour quels salariés le travail à temps partiel présente-t-il des aspects positifs? (1)



B - Traduisez en français le passage entre crochets. (4)

De "Chuck Harner, 63..." à "... Now he earns about $7 an hour."


C- Recopiez le texte ci-dessous en mettant les verbes entre parenthèses à la forme exigée par le contexte (2)

Joe (to work) in the new supermarket for a year when, last month, he (to break) his arm while playing football. As he (to have) no health insurance, he (to be) on sick leave, without pay, for several weeks.


D- Recopiez le passage suivant en le complétant à l'aide de any/some/none/no (2)

_______________________ of the workers who were interviewed said they didn't enjoy their jobs because they felt they didn't have ________________________ spare time. They also told the journalist they had ________ choice regarding schedule. ________________________ of them, however, said he would go on strike over this.

E- Write six to eight lines IN ENGLISH about the job you would like to get. (4)
(Job, employer, working conditions, schedule, pay, days off...)