A changing labor market is diverting workers from jobs that offer health insurance toward nonstandard work arrangements that make finding affordable coverage difficult, a trend that contributes to job instability, according to a new report.

Nonstandard work — part-time, contract, on-call and temporary jobs — has become more prevalent since 2005, researchers found in a national survey conducted as part of the report released today by the nonpartisan Iowa Policy Project (IPP).

From 2005 to 2009, the number of nonstandard workers has increased from 27 percent of the U.S. work force to 40 percent, according to the report, which is based on a nationwide survey of approximately 1,300 workers.

Only 22 percent of nonstandard workers had employer-sponsored health insurance coverage, compared with 72 percent of workers in traditional jobs, the researchers found.

“Employer-provided health insurance has become more rare and more expensive, leaving the economically weakest workers to fend for themselves,” said Noga O’Connor, an IPP research associate and co-author of the report, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Labor. O’Connor, IPP Research Director Peter Fisher and senior research consultant Colin Gordon co-authored the report.

O’Connor and colleague Andrew Cannon said the report shows that the rapid increase in health-care costs is only one reason for the steady erosion of employer-sponsored insurance.

“A big reason also is simply that movement of people into jobs that are not likely to offer insurance,” Cannon said.

The researchers also found that the likelihood of having health insurance is related to job turnover, as workers without insurance are more likely than insured workers to lose or change jobs. From an employer’s perspective, offering health benefits leads to a more stable work force, Cannon said.  

The study was one of two on health insurance produced by IPP and fully funded by the Labor Department under a $335,043 contract secured by Sen. Tom Harkin.  Both reports are available on the IPP website, www.iowapolicyproject.org.