Shares of persons at work who are involuntarily part time, by reason, 1994–2016

 Total involuntary part time  Slack work  Could find only part time
Jan-1994 4.3% 2.2% 1.9%
Feb-1994 4.0% 2.0% 1.8%
Mar-1994 4.2% 2.2% 1.7%
Apr-1994 4.0% 2.0% 1.8%
May-1994 4.1% 2.1% 1.7%
Jun-1994 4.1% 2.2% 1.6%
Jul-1994 4.0% 2.1% 1.5%
Aug-1994 3.8% 2.1% 1.5%
Sep-1994 3.6% 2.0% 1.4%
Oct-1994 3.7% 2.0% 1.5%
Nov-1994 3.7% 2.0% 1.4%
Dec-1994 3.7% 2.0% 1.4%
Jan-1995 3.9% 2.1% 1.5%
Feb-1995 3.7% 2.0% 1.4%
Mar-1995 3.7% 2.0% 1.5%
Apr-1995 3.7% 2.0% 1.4%
May-1995 3.7% 2.1% 1.4%
Jun-1995 3.8% 2.0% 1.5%
Jul-1995 3.8% 2.1% 1.5%
Aug-1995 3.9% 2.2% 1.4%
Sep-1995 3.8% 2.1% 1.4%
Oct-1995 3.7% 2.1% 1.3%
Nov-1995 3.7% 2.1% 1.4%
Dec-1995 3.6% 2.1% 1.3%
Jan-1996 3.4% 1.9% 1.3%
Feb-1996 3.7% 2.1% 1.3%
Mar-1996 3.7% 2.1% 1.3%
Apr-1996 3.7% 2.1% 1.3%
May-1996 3.5% 1.8% 1.4%
Jun-1996 3.6% 1.9% 1.3%
Jul-1996 3.7% 2.2% 1.3%
Aug-1996 3.7% 2.1% 1.3%
Sep-1996 3.6% 2.0% 1.3%
Oct-1996 3.5% 1.8% 1.4%
Nov-1996 3.2% 1.7% 1.3%
Dec-1996 3.5% 1.9% 1.3%
Jan-1997 3.4% 1.9% 1.3%
Feb-1997 3.5% 2.0% 1.2%
Mar-1997 3.3% 1.9% 1.2%
Apr-1997 3.5% 2.0% 1.3%
May-1997 3.2% 1.8% 1.1%
Jun-1997 3.2% 1.9% 1.1%
Jul-1997 3.4% 1.8% 1.3%
Aug-1997 3.4% 1.8% 1.3%
Sep-1997 3.2% 1.8% 1.2%
Oct-1997 3.1% 1.8% 1.2%
Nov-1997 3.1% 1.8% 1.1%
Dec-1997 3.0% 1.8% 1.0%
Jan-1998 3.1% 1.8% 1.1%
Feb-1998 3.1% 1.7% 1.1%
Mar-1998 3.1% 1.7% 1.1%
Apr-1998 3.0% 1.7% 1.0%
May-1998 2.9% 1.7% 1.0%
Jun-1998 3.0% 1.7% 1.0%
Jul-1998 3.1% 1.9% 1.0%
Aug-1998 2.9% 1.7% 1.0%
Sep-1998 2.7% 1.5% 0.9%
Oct-1998 2.7% 1.6% 0.9%
Nov-1998 2.6% 1.5% 0.9%
Dec-1998 2.6% 1.5% 0.9%
Jan-1999 2.7% 1.6% 0.9%
Feb-1999 2.7% 1.6% 0.9%
Mar-1999 2.8% 1.6% 0.9%
Apr-1999 2.7% 1.5% 0.9%
May-1999 2.6% 1.5% 0.9%
Jun-1999 2.7% 1.6% 0.8%
Jul-1999 2.7% 1.6% 0.9%
Aug-1999 2.6% 1.5% 0.9%
Sep-1999 2.5% 1.5% 0.8%
Oct-1999 2.4% 1.4% 0.7%
Nov-1999 2.5% 1.5% 0.8%
Dec-1999 2.5% 1.5% 0.8%
Jan-2000 2.5% 1.5% 0.8%
Feb-2000 2.4% 1.4% 0.8%
Mar-2000 2.5% 1.4% 0.8%
Apr-2000 2.4% 1.4% 0.8%
May-2000 2.5% 1.5% 0.7%
Jun-2000 2.5% 1.5% 0.8%
Jul-2000 2.5% 1.5% 0.7%
Aug-2000 2.5% 1.6% 0.7%
Sep-2000 2.4% 1.6% 0.6%
Oct-2000 2.4% 1.4% 0.7%
Nov-2000 2.6% 1.7% 0.7%
Dec-2000 2.4% 1.5% 0.7%
Jan-2001 2.5% 1.6% 0.7%
Feb-2001 2.5% 1.6% 0.7%
Mar-2001 2.5% 1.5% 0.7%
Apr-2001 2.5% 1.6% 0.7%
May-2001 2.6% 1.7% 0.7%
Jun-2001 2.9% 1.8% 0.8%
Jul-2001 2.8% 1.7% 0.8%
Aug-2001 2.6% 1.7% 0.7%
Sep-2001 3.2% 2.2% 0.8%
Oct-2001 3.4% 2.3% 0.8%
Nov-2001 3.3% 2.2% 0.8%
Dec-2001 3.3% 2.2% 0.9%
Jan-2002 3.2% 2.1% 0.8%
Feb-2002 3.3% 2.1% 0.8%
Mar-2002 3.1% 2.1% 0.8%
Apr-2002 3.2% 2.1% 0.9%
May-2002 3.1% 2.0% 0.8%
Jun-2002 3.1% 2.1% 0.8%
Jul-2002 3.3% 2.2% 0.9%
Aug-2002 3.4% 2.3% 0.9%
Sep-2002 3.3% 2.1% 0.9%
Oct-2002 3.2% 2.2% 0.9%
Nov-2002 3.3% 2.1% 0.9%
Dec-2002 3.3% 2.2% 0.9%
Jan-2003 3.5% 2.3% 0.9%
Feb-2003 3.6% 2.4% 1.0%
Mar-2003 3.5% 2.3% 0.9%
Apr-2003 3.6% 2.4% 0.9%
May-2003 3.4% 2.3% 0.9%
Jun-2003 3.5% 2.4% 1.0%
Jul-2003 3.6% 2.5% 1.0%
Aug-2003 3.4% 2.3% 0.9%
Sep-2003 3.7% 2.4% 1.0%
Oct-2003 3.5% 2.2% 1.0%
Nov-2003 3.6% 2.4% 1.0%
Dec-2003 3.5% 2.4% 1.0%
Jan-2004 3.5% 2.2% 1.1%
Feb-2004 3.4% 2.2% 1.0%
Mar-2004 3.6% 2.3% 1.1%
Apr-2004 3.4% 2.1% 1.1%
May-2004 3.4% 2.1% 1.1%
Jun-2004 3.4% 2.1% 1.0%
Jul-2004 3.4% 2.0% 1.1%
Aug-2004 3.4% 2.1% 1.1%
Sep-2004 3.3% 2.1% 1.0%
Oct-2004 3.5% 2.2% 1.0%
Nov-2004 3.3% 2.0% 1.0%
Dec-2004 3.2% 2.0% 1.0%
Jan-2005 3.3% 2.0% 1.0%
Feb-2005 3.1% 1.9% 0.9%
Mar-2005 3.2% 2.0% 1.1%
Apr-2005 3.1% 1.9% 1.0%
May-2005 3.1% 1.9% 1.0%
Jun-2005 3.3% 2.0% 1.0%
Jul-2005 3.3% 2.1% 1.0%
Aug-2005 3.4% 2.0% 1.1%
Sep-2005 3.4% 2.1% 1.0%
Oct-2005 3.1% 1.9% 0.9%
Nov-2005 3.0% 1.9% 0.9%
Dec-2005 3.0% 1.8% 0.9%
Jan-2006 3.0% 1.9% 0.9%
Feb-2006 3.0% 1.9% 0.9%
Mar-2006 2.9% 1.8% 0.9%
Apr-2006 2.8% 1.8% 0.8%
May-2006 2.9% 1.9% 0.8%
Jun-2006 3.1% 2.0% 0.9%
Jul-2006 3.2% 2.0% 0.9%
Aug-2006 3.1% 2.0% 0.9%
Sep-2006 2.9% 1.9% 0.8%
Oct-2006 3.1% 2.0% 0.9%
Nov-2006 2.9% 1.9% 0.8%
Dec-2006 2.9% 1.9% 0.9%
Jan-2007 3.1% 2.0% 0.9%
Feb-2007 3.0% 1.9% 0.9%
Mar-2007 3.0% 2.0% 0.8%
Apr-2007 3.1% 2.0% 0.9%
May-2007 3.2% 2.1% 0.9%
Jun-2007 3.1% 2.0% 0.9%
Jul-2007 3.2% 2.0% 0.9%
Aug-2007 3.3% 2.2% 0.9%
Sep-2007 3.2% 2.1% 0.8%
Oct-2007 3.0% 2.0% 0.9%
Nov-2007 3.1% 2.1% 0.8%
Dec-2007 3.2% 2.2% 0.9%
Jan-2008 3.5% 2.4% 0.8%
Feb-2008 3.5% 2.4% 0.9%
Mar-2008 3.5% 2.4% 0.9%
Apr-2008 3.7% 2.5% 0.9%
May-2008 3.7% 2.6% 0.9%
Jun-2008 4.0% 2.8% 1.0%
Jul-2008 4.4% 3.2% 1.0%
Aug-2008 4.3% 3.1% 1.0%
Sep-2008 4.4% 3.0% 1.1%
Oct-2008 4.7% 3.4% 1.1%
Nov-2008 5.2% 3.9% 1.1%
Dec-2008 5.8% 4.3% 1.1%
Jan-2009 5.9% 4.4% 1.2%
Feb-2009 6.5% 4.8% 1.3%
Mar-2009 6.7% 5.1% 1.3%
Apr-2009 6.6% 5.0% 1.3%
May-2009 6.7% 5.0% 1.4%
Jun-2009 6.7% 5.1% 1.6%
Jul-2009 6.8% 5.3% 1.5%
Aug-2009 6.9% 5.2% 1.6%
Sep-2009 6.6% 4.8% 1.5%
Oct-2009 6.7% 5.0% 1.5%
Nov-2009 6.7% 4.9% 1.6%
Dec-2009 6.8% 4.8% 1.7%
Jan-2010 6.4% 4.6% 1.7%
Feb-2010 6.7% 4.7% 1.7%
Mar-2010 6.9% 4.8% 1.8%
Apr-2010 6.8% 4.7% 1.8%
May-2010 6.5% 4.5% 1.7%
Jun-2010 6.4% 4.6% 1.7%
Jul-2010 6.5% 4.7% 1.8%
Aug-2010 6.7% 4.8% 1.7%
Sep-2010 6.8% 4.7% 1.8%
Oct-2010 6.5% 4.4% 1.8%
Nov-2010 6.5% 4.4% 1.8%
Dec-2010 6.6% 4.5% 1.8%
Jan-2011 6.4% 4.4% 1.8%
Feb-2011 6.3% 4.2% 1.8%
Mar-2011 6.4% 4.3% 1.8%
Apr-2011 6.4% 4.2% 1.9%
May-2011 6.3% 4.3% 1.8%
Jun-2011 6.3% 4.3% 1.9%
Jul-2011 6.3% 4.3% 1.9%
Aug-2011 6.7% 4.4% 2.0%
Sep-2011 6.7% 4.2% 2.1%
Oct-2011 6.3% 4.2% 1.8%
Nov-2011 6.1% 4.0% 1.8%
Dec-2011 6.0% 3.9% 1.8%
Jan-2012 6.1% 4.0% 1.9%
Feb-2012 6.0% 4.0% 1.8%
Mar-2012 5.7% 3.8% 1.7%
Apr-2012 5.8% 3.8% 1.8%
May-2012 5.8% 3.8% 1.9%
Jun-2012 6.0% 3.9% 1.8%
Jul-2012 6.1% 3.9% 1.9%
Aug-2012 5.9% 3.9% 1.8%
Sep-2012 6.2% 4.0% 1.9%
Oct-2012 5.9% 3.6% 1.9%
Nov-2012 5.8% 3.7% 1.9%
Dec-2012 5.7% 3.6% 1.9%
Jan-2013 5.9% 3.8% 1.9%
Feb-2013 5.8% 3.7% 1.8%
Mar-2013 5.6% 3.6% 1.9%
Apr-2013 5.7% 3.7% 1.8%
May-2013 5.6% 3.5% 1.9%
Jun-2013 5.9% 3.7% 1.9%
Jul-2013 6.0% 3.8% 2.0%
Aug-2013 5.7% 3.5% 1.9%
Sep-2013 5.7% 3.5% 1.8%
Oct-2013 5.7% 3.6% 1.9%
Nov-2013 5.5% 3.5% 1.8%
Dec-2013 5.5% 3.5% 1.9%
Jan-2014 5.2% 3.2% 1.8%
Feb-2014 5.2% 3.1% 1.9%
Mar-2014 5.3% 3.2% 1.9%
Apr-2014 5.3% 3.2% 1.8%
May-2014 5.1% 3.1% 1.7%
Jun-2014 5.3% 3.2% 1.9%
Jul-2014 5.4% 3.3% 1.8%
Aug-2014 5.2% 3.0% 1.8%
Sep-2014 5.0% 2.9% 1.8%
Oct-2014 4.9% 2.9% 1.7%
Nov-2014 4.8% 2.8% 1.7%
Dec-2014 4.7% 2.8% 1.7%
Jan-2015 4.8% 2.8% 1.7%
Feb-2015 4.6% 2.7% 1.7%
Mar-2015 4.7% 2.8% 1.6%
Apr-2015 4.5% 2.7% 1.6%
May-2015 4.5% 2.7% 1.6%
Jun-2015 4.5% 2.7% 1.5%
Jul-2015 4.5% 2.7% 1.6%
Aug-2015 4.6% 2.7% 1.6%
Sep-2015 4.2% 2.5% 1.5%
Oct-2015 4.0% 2.3% 1.5%
Nov-2015 4.2% 2.4% 1.5%
Dec-2015 4.1% 2.4% 1.5%
Jan-2016 4.1% 2.4% 1.5%
Feb-2016 4.1% 2.5% 1.4%
Mar-2016 4.2% 2.5% 1.5%
Apr-2016 4.1% 2.5% 1.4%
May-2016 4.4% 2.6% 1.4%
Jun-2016 4.0% 2.4% 1.4%
Jul-2016 4.2% 2.6% 1.4%

Note: Data are for all wage and salary workers "at work" age 16 or older. Involuntary part-time workers are those classified as "part time for economic reasons" by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Slack work" refers to a reduction in hours in response to unfavorable business conditions.

Source: Author's analysis of basic monthly Current Population Survey microdata

View the underlying data on epi.org.