Part-time work as a women's domain - Wish or makeshift?
Destatis, 28 April 2009
Since the early 1990s, the number of part-time workers in Germany has continuously been rising. In public debate, there are different interpretations of that trend. On the one hand, part-time work is considered a flexible way of reconciling employment and family obligations and, consequently, is supported. On the other hand, it is underlined in the debate that disadvantages may arise as a result of reduced income and reduced integration in the social security systems. With the microcensus it is possible to get a detailed overview of the reasons why people choose part-time work and to get an idea of whether that form of employment meets the wishes of the people concerned.
This article refers to persons aged 15 to 64 years with weekly working hours of less than 21 hours. Persons undergoing education or (vocational) training and persons in partial retirement have been excluded. That definition has been chosen because, in that group, the disadvantages of part-time work with regard to income and social security are particularly apparent. Compared with other common definitions of part-time work (e. g. with weekly working hours of up to 30 hours), there are no major differences regarding the structures and changes shown here.
Development of part-time work
part-time workers
In 2008, 4.9 million persons had a part-time job with weekly working hours of less than 21 hours as their main activity. The number of part-time workers thus rose by 35% from 3.5 million in 1998. Since the 1990s, the number of part-time workers increased continuously. Only since 2006, their share has remained constant at 16% of all employees.
That marked increase in part-time employment was caused, among other things, by the employees’ legal right to part-time work, which was introduced in 2001, by general measures taken to support the compatibility of family and employment, as well as by various legal changes regarding minor employment. Part-time work still is a women’s domain. The increase in the share of men working part-time is slow: Over a ten-year period, an increase from 10% in 1998 to 13% in 2008 was recorded.Middle age groups dominant
Age structur of persons
The trend towards more part-time employment is observed in all age groups. The share of part-time workers in the employees of the relevant age group increases for all age groups in the ten-year comparison. The increase is largest for the age group of the 45 to 54 year olds and it is smallest for the 25 to 34 year olds.
Examining only the group of part-time workers and their age structure reveals marked changes. The largest age group here is that of the 35 to 54 year olds, which accounts for a total of 60% of all part-time workers. Most of them are women. The share of the 45 to 54 year olds in all part-time workers has been up by six percentage points over the last ten years, whereas the share of the 25 to 34 year olds has fallen sharply since 1998 (-8 percentage points). Those changes apply almost equally to men and women.
Low educational attainment = reduced working time?
Part-time workers have a lower level of education than the total of employees. 22% of the part-time workers have no vocational qualification, while the share among all employees is about 13%. For higher educational qualifications, the difference between full-time and part-time workers is somewhat smaller: 10% of the part-time workers and 17% of all employees have an academic degree. One of the reasons for that difference may be the fact that nearly half of all part-time workers have a minor employment (mini job or 400-euro job) and that this form of employment has the highest share of persons without vocational qualification.
Main reason is family obligations
a part-time job
For the majority of part-time workers, the main reason for doing a job with reduced working hours is to get time for family obligations: Over 50% of the part-time workers perform a part-time activity because they take care of children or of persons in need of long-term care or because they meet other family obligations.
The importance of family obligations as a reason for doing a part-time job is much smaller in the new Länder, where the situation differs fundamentally from that in the former territory of the Federal Republic: Care and family obligations are indicated as the main reason by just about 14%.
For 23% of the part-time workers, the main reason is that they have not found a full-time job. Compared with 1998 (13%), that share has nearly doubled. Obviously, for a growing share of part-time workers, part-time employment is a makeshift solution because, actually, those part-time workers wish to work full-time.
In the new Länder, the results differ markedly from the federal result for this item, too. There, about 65% of the part-time workers do such a job mainly because they have not found a full-time job.
What is also striking is that in East and West, more than half (52%) of the men working part time also indicated as the main reason that they have not found a full-time job.
Reasons like sickness, consequences of an accident, education or training lead to part-time work in relatively few cases. A share of part-time workers not to be disregarded (nearly 20%) do not want a full-time job for other reasons than those mentioned.
Part-time work – just additional earnings?
Just under 50% of the part-time workers have neither a minor job nor a fixed-term job. Probably, that group is fully integrated in the social security systems. It should be noted, however, that those persons, too, may face disadvantages for example in terms of old-age provision because of the lower income. This is true especially where the part-time job is done permanently rather than just temporarily. Also, for over 60% the main source of livelihood is their employment. A good quarter of the part-time workers are supported by their partner. About 10% of the part-time workers indicate that they receive benefits according to Hartz IV.
Conclusion
For most part-time workers, a job with a small number of weekly working hours is neither a clear wish nor a clear makeshift solution, it is rather the result of family or personal obligations: Over 50% of all part-time workers do such a job mainly because of family obligations. In the new Länder, however, the situation is different. For 63% of the part-time workers there, part-time work obviously is a makeshift solution because they have not found a full-time job.
Author:
Katharina Puch – Federal Statistical Office
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