IES Blog

Full-time job growth faster than part-time

Posted on July 23rd, 2013 Read time: 1 minutes

Contrary to what much reporting on the subject has said, full-time job openings are growing faster than part-time. According to MarketWatch, since the end of the recession four years ago 3.3 million full-time jobs have been created, as opposed to 564,000 part-time positions. The proportion of U.S. employees who work fewer than 35 hours per week is 19.5 percent. Looking at statistics shows the majority of part-time workers are students, stay-at-home parents and retirees.

It is also worth noting that many who work part-time prefer to do so. While there are certainly people holding positions that involve fewer hours than they would like, some enjoy the flexibility of part-time work and have no wish to move to full-time.

Temporary jobs have also grown since the end of the recession, which in combination with the above statistics indicates much of contingent employment is full-time. Temporary workers may work varying schedules, but many positions are full-time, not to mention long-term. Like part-time employees, temporary and contract workers often prefer the flexibility of a contingent position over permanent work.

Related Articles