Is "part-time work" an accurate translation of バイト? The most common translation I see of I see is "part-time work". However, the contexts I see it used in seem to refer to casual work, as opposed to people having a permanent job, merely with reduced hours, such as women with young children (does this scenario not occur in Japan?). Is "part-time work" a more accurate translation of than "casual work"?

"Part-time work" is a valid translation of / but it certainly is not the ONLY definition of the words. For instance, if a college student took a year off from school and worked 12 hours a day, 6 days a week to save money, that would still be called / even though he worked 72 hours a week for a year. Point is he was not a permanent employee.

The same goes for "casual work" that you mentioned. If one is not officially hired as a "regular employee = []{}" or "contract employee = []{}", one is considered /. However, we have a very common new word that describes this type of worker, . Unlike //, the new word expresses or at least implies a laid-back lifestyle with time for hobbies.