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Why does part-time employment increase in recessions?

Author

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  • Daniel Borowczyk-Martins

    (Copenhagen Business School, Denmark, and IZA, Germany)

Abstract

The share of workers employed part-time increases substantially in economic downturns. How should this phenomenon be interpreted? One hypothesis is that part-time jobs are more prevalent in sectors that are less sensitive to the business cycle, so that recessionary changes in the sectoral composition of employment explain the increase in part-time employment. The evidence shows, however, that this hypothesis only accounts for a small part of the story. Instead, the growth of part-time work operates mainly through reductions in working hours in existing jobs.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Borowczyk-Martins, 2017. "Why does part-time employment increase in recessions?," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 397-397, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:y:2017:n:397
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

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    3. Borowczyk-Martins, Daniel & Lalé, Etienne, 2020. "The ins and outs of involuntary part-time employment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    4. Sehnbruch, Kirsten & Prieto Suarez, Joaquin & Vidal, Diego, 2025. "Stuck in a bad job? The dynamics of poor-quality employment in Chile, 2004–2019," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 128576, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Miežienė Rasa & Krutulienė Sandra & Gruževskis Boguslavas, 2021. "Identifying the Main Determinants of Part-Time Employment in EU Countries," Review of Economic Perspectives, Sciendo, vol. 21(2), pages 151-171, June.
    6. Toshihiko Mukoyama & Mototsugu Shintani & Kazuhiro Teramoto, 2021. "Cyclical Part‐Time Employment in an Estimated New Keynesian Model with Search Frictions," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 53(8), pages 1929-1968, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth

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