Part-time jobs (fewer than 35 hours per week) can provide flexible work opportunities benefiting both employers and job seekers. While most workers consider full-time jobs the benchmark of employment, changes occurring in our demographics and society are shifting the perception and pursuit of part-time work. For example:

• Baby boomers aging out of the workforce and transitioning into retirement might see part-time work as an opportunity to stay connected with a "work-family," as well as a way to supplement their retirement income.
• New families beginning the journey of raising children can use part-time jobs to provide the flexibility and income to give their family more time and attention.
• Employers dealing with some of the lowest unemployment rates in years can benefit from offering part-time jobs, capturing productivity of workers that might otherwise exit the labor force if no part-time opportunities were found.

In the second quarter of 2015, about 58 percent of job openings in Central Minnesota were part-time, a large increase over last year when only 35 percent of openings were part-time. With about 7,000 part-time job openings in the region this year, there was roughly twice as many part-time job openings compared to the highest amount previously recorded, back in 2006. However, not all occupations have the same opportunities to work part-time.

Using DEED's Job Vacancy Survey we can see what types of jobs are most likely to offer part-time openings in Central Minnesota. In the 2nd quarter of 2015, the highest share of openings that were part-time were found in the protective service occupational group where 90 percent were part-time (Figure 1). Protective service primarily includes occupations such as security guards, and lifeguards and other recreational workers, but also includes firefighters and police officers. The lowest share of part-time openings were found in the computer and mathematical occupational group, where only 1 percent of the jobs were part-time.

Looking at the amount of part-time openings instead of the percent of all openings provides a different perspective that is also useful. Although protective services had the largest share of openings being part-time, they have just the ninth highest number of openings.

The largest amount of part-time openings was actually found in food preparation and serving, with 1,803 openings; followed by sales and related with 1,510 part-time vacancies. The region also had lots of part-time openings in personal care and service, health care, transportation and material moving, building and grounds cleaning, and office support. Data show that median wage offers were between $8.00 and $12.00 per hour for many of these occupations. The occupational group with the lowest number of part-time openings was computer and mathematical occupations, with only one part-time opening out of 99 total vacancies (Figure 2).

Part-time jobs are just one of the many options employers and job seekers can use to find a suitable work arrangement.

For More Information

Contact Luke Greiner at 320-308-5378.