According to a recent Paychex survey of 930 American employees, consisting of current and former ... [+]
Despite a challenging economic environment with rising costs and high interest rates, Americans are turning to part-time work. More than 27 million people in the United States are working less than 35 hours, as of January 2023. According to Zippia, over 60% of these part-time workers are women.
This can be attributed to several reasons: people feeling burned out after dealing with a global pandemic, worn out by the constant pressure and grind of hustle culture or concerns over childcare and sick relatives. In dual-income households, one of the working partners may elect to scale down, take a part-time role and spend more time with their children, while saving costs on childcare. Women disproportionately bear the brunt of those responsibilities.
Many have elected to opt out of the corporate rat race and pursue opportunities that offer meaning, fulfillment and purpose. In October 2021, Gartner surveyed more than 3,500 employees around the world. Sixty-five percent of the respondents said the pandemic made them reevaluate their work life, while 56% said it made them want to devote more to society.
Layoffs And Lack Of Opportunities
The wave of layoffs in tech, Wall Street, media, real estate and other sectors impacted by inflation, higher interest rates and aggressive overhiring during the pandemic resulted in a white-collar recession. From mid-2022 to now, hundreds of thousands of college-educated office professionals have been laid off. When companies conduct downsizing, they concurrently put a pause on hiring. It's likely that many well-paid professionals are reluctantly turning to part-time positions to make ends meet or ride out the current downturn until they can procure suitable and appropriate opportunities.
Data from the Department of Labor reflects that the number of part-time workers in the U.S. increased by more than 1 million in December and January, compared to the two prior months. Of these workers, about 857,000 of them opt to work part-time voluntarily. The Wall Street Journal reported that COVID-related burnout is one of the major key factors in pivoting to part-time work.
From Retiree To Boomerang Worker
The Labor Department reported that the number of people employed part-time for economic reasons is 4.1 million. These individuals are characterized by the jobs report as people “who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part-time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs.”
Some older workers dropped out of the workforce to avoid getting sick. Other experienced workers left the job market as their fortunes rose during the pandemic. Their stock portfolio performed well, and the value of their homes—which, for some, is their most valuable asset—skyrocketed.
Once the “everything bubble” burst, costs soared due to inflation, and home prices plunged because of higher mortgage interest rates, which resulted from the Federal Reserve Bank’s rate hikes. All of this, coupled with an uncertain stock market, caused a reverse wealth effect, leading to retirees reentering the job market and taking part-time roles to earn some income.
According to a recent Paychex survey of 930 American employees, consisting of current and former retirees, one in six retired Americans is considering reentering the workforce. Of the respondents who have already returned to work, 55% said they came back because they needed more money.
The Frontline And Blue-Collar Winners
While the tech sector lost more than 125,000 jobs in 2023, according to Layoffs.fyi, the restaurant, travel, leisure and hospitality, warehouses, fulfillment centers, bars and related sectors are aggressively hiring. Many of these positions are part-time and seasonal. A sector that added the most jobs since September has been food and beverage, with almost 100,000 new hires. The significant number of people working in these part-time roles has helped keep the economy going and the U.S. unemployment rate at a 53-year low.
