Explaining the Growth of Part-time Employment: Factors of Supply and Demand

Using the Dutch Labour Force Survey 1991-2001, the authors investigate the incidence of part-time employment in the country with the highest part-time employment rate of the OECD countries. Women fulfil most part-time jobs, but a considerable fraction of men works part-time as well. Evidence from descriptive statistics and a macroeconometric model at the sectoral level of industry suggests that the growth of part-time employment in the 1990s relates strongly to the growth in female labour force participation. Factors of labour demand, such as the shift from manufacturing to services and the increase in the demand for flexible labour, turn out to play a significant role as well. Copyright 2006 The Authors; Journal compilation 2006 CEIS, Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini and Blackwell Publishing Ltd..