April 2004

IZA DP No. 1124: Explaining the Growth of Part-Time Employment: Factors of Supply and Demand

Rob Euwals, Maurice Hogerbrugge

published in: Labour, 2006, 20 (3), 533-557

Using the Dutch Labour Force Survey 1991-2001, the authors investigate the incidence of part-time employment in the country with the highest part-time employment rate of the OECD countries. Women fulfil most part-time jobs, but nevertheless a considerable fraction of men works part-time as well. Evidence from descriptive statistics and a macro-econometric model at the sectoral level of industry suggests that the growth of part-time employment in the 1990s relates strongly to the growth in female labour force participation. Factors of labour demand, like the shift from manufacturing to services, turn out to play a significant role as well.