Part-time job postings surge in U.S. – Indeed Hiring Lab
TEXAS, UNITED STATES — The U.S. job market is experiencing a significant shift towards part-time employment opportunities, according to recent data from Indeed’s Hiring Lab.
Since 2022, part-time job postings have climbed 2.5 percentage points, reaching 31.7% of total job listings by May 2024. Meanwhile, full-time job postings have remained relatively flat.
The analysis tracks U.S. job postings on Indeed, considering job descriptions that specify the type of employment—either full-time, part-time, or both. The data, adjusted for changes in job title mix based on 2019 figures, excludes job postings that do not specify a schedule, ensuring a clear view of employer intentions regarding job scheduling.
Sectors leading the part-time trend in the U.S.
Beauty & Wellness leads with 67.2% of job postings being part-time, followed closely by Personal Care & Home Health at 54.2%.
Other sectors with high part-time job ratios include Retail (47.5%), Food Preparation & Service (46.7%), and Sports (46.2%).
Over the past two years, Beauty & Wellness has seen the most dramatic increase, with a 26.8 percentage point jump in part-time job opportunities. Marketing (10.2%), Hospitality & Tourism (9.9%), and Media & Communications (8.9%) have also experienced significant growth in part-time listings.
Full-time roles still dominate overall
Despite the rise in part-time opportunities, full-time positions continue to dominate the job market, accounting for 62.3% of total postings as of May 2024.
Traditional office jobs such as Insurance, Legal, and Accounting still heavily favor full-time roles, with over 70% of their listings being full-time positions.
The motivations behind this shift are complex. “The specific drivers of the trend towards more part-time work — including the possibility that employers are offering more flexible options to attract workers, and/or that a cooling labor market simply requires fewer full-time roles — are difficult to discern,” the report noted.
As the labor market continues to evolve, these trends will serve as important indicators of employers’ responses to changing dynamics. The rise in part-time opportunities may persist if employer demand for workers continues to fade in an uncertain economy slowly.
