Total part-time employees in the labour force

IBISWorld forecasts that the total number of part-time employees in the labour force will rise by 1.6% in 2025-26, to an average of 4.57 million people over the year, a slowdown from the 3.0% increase seen during 2024-2025. Growth will be driven by expansions in service-oriented sectors like healthcare, social assistance, and hospitality, which traditionally feature a high proportion of part-time roles. The part-time share of total employment has held steady at 31.0% in 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Female part-time workers represent the majority of the part-time workforce, as they're more likely to balance childcare and housework with paid work than men. However, the proportion of part-time workers who are female has decreased over the past five years, as many women have transitioned to full-time roles. This continues the long-term trend of a gradually falling female share of the part-time labour force. According to the latest available data from the ABS, females accounted for 66.61% of the part-time employees in October 2025. As a result, part-time employment is typically driven by the growing number of females in the labour force and overall population growth.

The total number of part-time employees in the labour force has increased over the past five years. However, after decades of steady increases in the part-time employment share, the share of total employees who are part-time has declined from a peak of 31.8% in 2020-21 to 31.0% in 2025-26. This temporary decrease in rates is primarily due to the effects of the pandemic, which propelled part-time rates to higher levels. As the economy gradually recovered, more people transitioned from part-time to full-time roles, pushing the part-time share to a decade low of 30.2% in 2022-23. To be considered a part-time employee, a person cannot work more than 35 hours per week. The percentage of employees working part-time has risen from 15.5% of total employment in 1978-79 to an estimated 31.0% in 2025-26. A shift towards the casualisation of the workforce, growing migration and the increasing prevalence of the gig economy have accelerated this trend. Overall, IBISWorld forecasts that the total number of part-time employees in the labour force will increase by a compound annual rate of 2.3% over the five years through 2025-26.