Part-time employment in Germany continues to rise

Part-time employment in Germany continues to rise

The trend towards part-time employment in Germany continued last year. According to the Federal Statistical Office, 31 percent of employees worked part-time, which corresponds to a total of 12.2 million people. Compared to 2022, the rate increased by one percent. Women are particularly likely to work part-time, with 50 percent doing this form of employment, compared to just 13 percent of men. Ten years ago, the part-time rate was 48 percent for women and 10 percent for men.

For women, the birth of their own child primarily leads to a reduction in working hours. Last year, 67 percent of all mothers with at least one child under 18 worked part-time, compared to just nine percent of all fathers. The differences are less clear for employees without children. 39 percent of women without children worked part-time, while 16 percent of men without children worked part-time.

The reasons for part-time employment are varied. Women said they viewed childcare as the reason in 27 percent of cases, while this was only the case for men in just under six percent. For 24 percent of men, training or further education as well as studies were reasons for the reduced working hours, compared to only eight percent of women. However, more than a quarter work less at their own request, without health restrictions or family obligations playing a role.

In view of the shortage of skilled workers, greater activation of part-time employees is being discussed. Statisticians stated that most of the shortage occupations for non-academic skilled workers in Germany had a part-time proportion that was well below average. An exception is the areas of health and nursing care as well as geriatric care, where the proportion of part-time workers was significantly above average. In other sectors such as energy technology or sanitary and air conditioning technology, the part-time rate was comparatively low.