Germany experiences a peak in part-time employment.
In Germany, the rate of people working part-time jobs has hit a new record, with 39.1% of the workforce taking on these roles in the first quarter of 2024, a rise of 0.3 percentage points compared to the same period in 2023. This record high was shared by IAB expert Enzo Weber during a speech in Nuremberg on a Wednesday.
Roughly 4.45 million individuals were employed in an additional job in the first quarter, marking a 2.2% growth compared to the preceding year's quarter. Weber noted that the number of secondary job holders has continued to rise, mirroring a long-standing upward trend before the pandemic. Currently, the figure sits just above pre-crisis levels at approximately 540,000.
The number of overall employed individuals also experienced a small increase, climbing to 45.8 million in the first quarter as compared to the previous year. Despite this, the average working hours per employed person dropped by 0.8%, landing at 344.5 hours. Weber's summary of the situation was "Each individual has never worked less, but together they have never worked more."
