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Number of involuntary part-time workers 5.8 million in October 2015

November 10, 2015

The number of people employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) edged down by 269,000 to 5.8 million in October. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

People employed part time for economic reasons, January 2005–October 2015
Month Employed part time for economic reasons

Jan 2005

4,389,000

Feb 2005

4,250,000

Mar 2005

4,388,000

Apr 2005

4,278,000

May 2005

4,315,000

Jun 2005

4,432,000

Jul 2005

4,400,000

Aug 2005

4,491,000

Sep 2005

4,675,000

Oct 2005

4,269,000

Nov 2005

4,219,000

Dec 2005

4,115,000

Jan 2006

4,123,000

Feb 2006

4,174,000

Mar 2006

3,972,000

Apr 2006

3,900,000

May 2006

4,111,000

Jun 2006

4,318,000

Jul 2006

4,303,000

Aug 2006

4,195,000

Sep 2006

4,115,000

Oct 2006

4,352,000

Nov 2006

4,190,000

Dec 2006

4,187,000

Jan 2007

4,279,000

Feb 2007

4,220,000

Mar 2007

4,253,000

Apr 2007

4,313,000

May 2007

4,473,000

Jun 2007

4,342,000

Jul 2007

4,410,000

Aug 2007

4,576,000

Sep 2007

4,521,000

Oct 2007

4,325,000

Nov 2007

4,494,000

Dec 2007

4,618,000

Jan 2008

4,846,000

Feb 2008

4,902,000

Mar 2008

4,904,000

Apr 2008

5,220,000

May 2008

5,286,000

Jun 2008

5,540,000

Jul 2008

5,930,000

Aug 2008

5,851,000

Sep 2008

6,148,000

Oct 2008

6,690,000

Nov 2008

7,311,000

Dec 2008

8,029,000

Jan 2009

8,046,000

Feb 2009

8,796,000

Mar 2009

9,145,000

Apr 2009

8,908,000

May 2009

9,113,000

Jun 2009

9,024,000

Jul 2009

8,891,000

Aug 2009

9,029,000

Sep 2009

8,847,000

Oct 2009

8,979,000

Nov 2009

9,114,000

Dec 2009

9,098,000

Jan 2010

8,530,000

Feb 2010

8,936,000

Mar 2010

9,233,000

Apr 2010

9,178,000

May 2010

8,845,000

Jun 2010

8,577,000

Jul 2010

8,500,000

Aug 2010

8,800,000

Sep 2010

9,246,000

Oct 2010

8,837,000

Nov 2010

8,873,000

Dec 2010

8,935,000

Jan 2011

8,487,000

Feb 2011

8,449,000

Mar 2011

8,658,000

Apr 2011

8,663,000

May 2011

8,605,000

Jun 2011

8,440,000

Jul 2011

8,277,000

Aug 2011

8,781,000

Sep 2011

9,109,000

Oct 2011

8,637,000

Nov 2011

8,450,000

Dec 2011

8,174,000

Jan 2012

8,291,000

Feb 2012

8,193,000

Mar 2012

7,808,000

Apr 2012

7,915,000

May 2012

8,163,000

Jun 2012

8,098,000

Jul 2012

8,087,000

Aug 2012

7,997,000

Sep 2012

8,600,000

Oct 2012

8,195,000

Nov 2012

8,156,000

Dec 2012

7,926,000

Jan 2013

8,055,000

Feb 2013

8,064,000

Mar 2013

7,699,000

Apr 2013

7,933,000

May 2013

7,947,000

Jun 2013

8,124,000

Jul 2013

8,087,000

Aug 2013

7,843,000

Sep 2013

7,939,000

Oct 2013

7,982,000

Nov 2013

7,715,000

Dec 2013

7,766,000

Jan 2014

7,274,000

Feb 2014

7,204,000

Mar 2014

7,449,000

Apr 2014

7,460,000

May 2014

7,268,000

Jun 2014

7,496,000

Jul 2014

7,433,000

Aug 2014

7,223,000

Sep 2014

7,058,000

Oct 2014

7,012,000

Nov 2014

6,851,000

Dec 2014

6,790,000

Jan 2015

6,810,000

Feb 2015

6,635,000

Mar 2015

6,705,000

Apr 2015

6,580,000

May 2015

6,652,000

Jun 2015

6,505,000

Jul 2015

6,325,000

Aug 2015

6,483,000

Sep 2015

6,036,000

Oct 2015

5,767,000

Note: People who work part time for economic reasons are those who worked 1 to 34 hours during the reference week for an economic reason such as slack work or unfavorable business conditions, inability to find full-time work, or seasonal declines in demand. Not included are people who usually work part time for noneconomic reasons such as childcare problems, family or personal obligations, school or training, retirement or Social Security limits on earnings, and other reasons.

In October 2014, the number of people working part time for economic reasons was 7.0 million. Over the past 12 months, the number of people employed part time for economic reasons has declined by 1.2 million.

The number of involuntary part-time workers reached 9.0 million during 2009 and stayed near that level in 2010 and much of 2011. The number has been below 7.0 million since November 2014.

These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see “The Employment Situation — October 2015” (HTML) (PDF). For more charts featuring Current Population Survey data, see Charting the labor market: Data from the Current Population Survey (PDF).

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Number of involuntary part-time workers 5.8 million in October 2015 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2015/number-of-involuntary-part-time-workers-5-point-8-million-in-october-2015.htm (visited March 28, 2024).

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