Part-time employed who would like to work full-time but could not find such a job on the labour market, are also referred to as involuntary part-time employed. The calculations are based on what the respondents indicated as the main reason for their part-time job.
The indicator is calculated as the proportion of involuntary part-time employed aged over 15 years in all part-timers over 15 years of age. The lower earnings due to the small number of working hours are likely to be particularly problematic for involuntary part-time employed, also with a view to old-age provision.
One in seventeen part-time employed wants to work full-time
In 2023 round 13 million people or 30.2% were employed in part-time. 5.1% considered part-time work as a makeshift solution. They indicated that the reason for their part-time job was not to have found a full-time job. 7.1% of part-time men and just 4.4% of women were actually looking for a full-time job.
| Age in years | Total | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|---|
| / = No response, because numerical value is not reliable enough. ( ) = low reliability. Source: Labour Force Survey | |||
| 15 to 24 | 3.3 | 3.3 | (3.3) |
| 25 to 34 | 6.4 | 4.8 | 10.1 |
| 35 to 44 | 4.8 | 3.1 | 13.6 |
| 45 to 54 | 5.9 | 5.2 | 10.4 |
| 55 to 64 | 6.1 | 5.8 | 7.6 |
| 65 and older | / | / | / |
| Total | 5.1 | 4.4 | 7.1 |
This phenomenon applies not primarily to job starters. For all age classes (except persons aged 15 to 24), the share of involuntary part-time employed is more than 4%. Persons aged 25 to 34 (6.4%) and the 55 to 64 year olds (6.1%) were most affected by involuntary part-time work.
The number of “involuntary” part-time employed decreases
In 2023, the number of involuntary part-time employed (5.1%) was lower than ten years earlier (2013: 14.8%). The share of involuntary part-time employed has also fallen compared to 1992 (5.4%) and reach a new low in 2023.
The largest increase was recorded for the years from 2002 to 2006. In that period, the number of marginal jobs rose considerably as a result of legal changes. For the year 2005, the increase shown is probably slightly larger than reality, which is due to modifications in the data collection and processing method of the Microcensus; however, this does not affect the general trend.
High involuntary part-time employment in trade, transport and hospitality industry
A particularly large number of involuntary part-time employed worked 2023 in the industry of trade, transport and hospitality industry (7.5%) as well as in the service sector (5.3%). Involuntary part-time seems to lose its significance. In each of the two named sectors the share was above 22% in the year 2009.
Family obligations most important reasons for women to work part-time
Besides the fact of not finding a full-time job, there are other reasons for part-time employment. Half of the part-time employee (51.5%) stated that they wanted to work part-time or had other personal reasons. In the true sense, this represents voluntary part-time employment as a result of a personal preference for weekly working hours and is independent of family or other responsibilities.
Many persons in employment work part-time for family reasons: In 2023, 22.5% indicated that taking care of children or other family members was the reason, 4.3% mentioned other family obligations. Women worked much more often part-time than men because of family obligations. In 2023, 32.9% of the women but only 7.9% of the men gave one of the above two reasons.
11.8% of part-time employed mentioned education or training as a reason. It is not possible to really find out whether this groups works part-time voluntarily. Particularly with regard to the care of children and relatives, it can be assumed that changes in child care and long-term care services offered have an impact on the wishes for full-time or part-time work.
Informations on the Indicator
Description or definition
Percentage of part-time employed (over 15 years) who could not find a full-time job in all part-time employed (over 15 years).
Source
Labour Force Survey
Information to interpretation
Involuntary part-time employed are employed persons in part-time who indicate that the main reason for their part-time job is not to have found a full-time job. This definition can be confusing as also other reasons for working part-time are not necessarily a 'voluntary' decision, for example, taking care of children or family members in need of care hinder the take-up of a full-time employment.
The microcensus with the integrated European labour force survey has been redesigned in 2020. The list of questions and the concept of the sample survey were modified, and with the introduction of an online questionnaire, the form of data collection were also changed. The results from survey year 2020 onward are therefore comparable with those of previous years only to a limited extent.
Further methodological changes affecting the results were performed in 2005, 2011 and 2021. Consequently, the results for those years can be compared with the results for previous years to a limited extent only.
The extrapolation of microcensus data uses the population figures from the 2011 Census, which was conducted as at 9 May 2011. The results have been revised from 2010 onwards. With effect from the year 2016, the sample is based on the 2011 census data. This transition affects the comparability of the results with previous years.
For more information please refer to Methods: Quality Reports and Explanations (only in German).
Further information
Redesigned microcensus as of 2020