Every second employed woman works part-time. Mainly because of child care. Only 13 percent of men work part-time.
Last year, too, predominantly women in Germany worked part-time. While every second employed woman worked part-time, the figure for men was only around 13 percent, as the Federal Statistical Office reported on the basis of the microcensus. Overall, the part-time rate among all employees rose slightly again from 30 percent in the previous year to 31 percent.
The birth of a child in particular was a reason for many employees to reduce their own working hours. Last year, two out of three mothers of underage children worked part-time, while this only applied to one in eleven fathers. 63 percent of part-time employed mothers also cited childcare as a reason for their limited employment. For fathers this was only 29 percent. They stated significantly more often that they would take a step back from their careers because of training or further education. At the beginning of their working lives, people generally work part-time less often, while above the age of 65 the part-time rate rises rapidly to more than three quarters (76 percent).
Statisticians warn that turning part-time workers into full-time employees could only help combat the shortage of skilled workers in certain sectors. In numerous male-dominated fields such as energy technology, heating, sanitary and air conditioning technology or even construction, there are usually only very low part-time quotas of a good 5 percent. Significantly high part-time rates were recorded in the areas of geriatric care (43 percent) and health (39 percent). However, the workload here is also exceptionally high.
Source: Stern
