Vol. 72/No. 15      April 14, 2008

Not since 1993 have so many people worked part-time jobs because they can’t find full-time employment. This figure rose 13 percent from December to January when some 600,000 more people were forced to settle for part-time, according to the Labor Department’s most recent figures.

To make ends meet, more workers are holding down multiple part-time jobs today than they have since the government starting keeping track in 1994.

The increase of multiple part-time job holders is largely due to a rise among female workers. More than 70 percent of the 1.8 million people with more than one part-time job are female.

The Labor Department classifies part-time work as less than 34 hours per week. However, it has become more common for people working 40-hour weeks to be considered “part-time” by their employer. These workers receive lower pay and fewer, if any, benefits. Federal law requires bosses to pay overtime after 40 hours, but not that they consider employees working 50 or 60 hours per week to be full time workers. “Full time” status is often tied to workers’ willingness to work constantly changing “flexible” shifts.

The change in the way work shifts are planned in the growing retail sector is one factor in the growth of part-time work. Major retail chains have adopted computerized work scheduling systems, which match staff size to customer traffic, hour by hour.

Between 2003 and 2006, the average supermarket worker’s hours dropped from 32.3 hours per week to 29.5.  
 
 
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