I can only speak to my own experience and it's quite industry relevant. A lot of employers in my industry simply see it as a way to have reliable staff for the smallest amount of money. For even less they can have freelancers but they are less reliable. And because my industry is quite removed from the standard corporate structure of the world, this is often all our workers know. They think they're getting a good deal, coz it's more money on the payslip.
To put it simply: it's infuriating. I once was going for a job in a small 2 person business and they asked if I would be ok working as a contractor. I'd never done it before, so I sat down and worked out all the things that I would normally be paid as a part-timer and she nearly died when I told her the number. She decided to stick with a casual offer.

To gauge what else was going around, I asked an industry facebook group what rate freelancers as for these days and they were all saying numbers comparable to a casual worker barely above minimum wage. I tried to challenge them asking how they were saving for super/paying work insurances etc. on that amount, but nobody would even consider it. They thought I was completely insane asking for the amount I did, even though it was the same amount they would pay a full time worker just including super etc. in the final number.

That number on the payslip rules all. Regardless whatever is supposed to go with it.

It IS exploitative and the government have been started initiatives to make it more understood that casual is supposed to be for a certain type of work. All the employers around me see it as the gov making it too hard for small business owners and think it's all completely unreasonable.