Part-Time Work Jumps 16% as Many Jobs Contract

Tough economic times—and a drop in full-time jobs in some sectors—are pushing more people into part-time work, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Labor Department says 16% more workers—some 4.79 million people—are working part-time jobs this year than last, the highest total since 1993.

And, says the Labor Department, 1.8 million—more than half of them women—work multiple part-time jobs to make ends meet, the highest number since 1994, when the government began recording that statistic. Much of the growth in part-time work is in retail, where extended hours and computerized staffing levels have created a need for flexible schedules. Part-time jobs make up about 17% of the employment market. (More employment stories.)