The Surge in Part-Time Workers Is Getting a Bad Rap
The implication is that these jobs are of lower quality, so the labor market is not as strong as the top-line numbers suggest. Such views are misguided.
Part-time work is booming.
Photographer: Eric Thayer/Bloomberg
Economists expect the US government to say Friday that the economy added 215,000 jobs in March. That would be in line with the solid pace of hiring during the past 12 months, and far above the recessionary forecasts made by most experts a year ago.
But more jobs do not necessarily mean more good jobs, and some pundits have expressed concern that part-time work (less than 35 hours per week) and not full-time accounts for most of the recent gains in employment. The implication is that part-time jobs are of lower quality, so the labor market is not as strong as the top-line numbers suggest. Such views miss key features of part-time work — ones that reinforce the strength of the labor market and policies that would improve the quality of part-time work even more.