Part-time employment on the rise as workers search for balance: KPMG

A KPMG analysis of recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Labour Force data has highlighted an increase in the switch from full-time work to part-time as more people try to achieve a balanced lifestyle.

The data reflected an extra 200,000 workers working part-time in 2024, which bumped up the proportion of Australian part-timers in the workforce to 30.9 per cent.

This came after a sharp decline in 2023 as part-time workers during the pandemic made up 30.3 per cent of the workforce, the lowest level since 2013.

KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley said since the 1970s there had been a long-term trend towards part-time work that was only briefly stalled by the impacts of COVID-19 on the labour market.

“Many people opt for part-time work to achieve a better balance between their working and personal lives. This flexibility allows them more time for education, childcare and family responsibilities, pursuing hobbies, or transitioning into retirement,” he said.

“The majority of people working part-time are happy with the number of hours they work and the ABS found that nearly 80 per cent of part-timers were happy with their arrangement, in the underemployed workers survey from February last year.”

ABS data showed the industry that underpinned the growth in part-time employment over 2024 was the healthcare industry, including aged care.

In 2019, 20 per cent of all part-time workers were in the healthcare industry which had grown to 22 per cent in 2024.

The accommodation and food services industry recorded the highest share of part-time workers with 60.5 per cent in part-time positions.

The retail industry followed this with 50.6 per cent part-time employees, and arts and recreation closely after this at 46.1 per cent in part-time employment.

Rawnsley said these industries had had strong increases in the share of part-time employment since 2009, with accommodation and food services up 4.6 percentage points and retail up 3.2 percentage points.

“The recovery of the traditional part-time industries of accommodation and food services and retail post-pandemic has provided options for people looking for part-time work. These may be younger people or working holiday makers, looking for flexible working arrangements.”

The mining industry revealed the lowest share of part-time workers, making up only 5.3 per cent of the total workforce.

“Given that mines often operate around the clock, the mining industry has implemented the FIFO model to ensure a matching workforce. This is one reason why 95 per cent of mining workers are in full-time positions, the highest proportion across any industry,” Rawnsley said.

In geographic terms, the analysis found that the coast stretched between Sydney and Brisbane had some of the highest percentages of part-time workers in Australia.

The coast consists of three regions and boasted almost 40 per cent of its workforce working part-time, with all three regions within the top 10 for part-time in the country.

Rawnsley attributed this to the fact this part of the NSW coast was uniquely placed and naturally lent itself to a stronger part-time workforce.

“Sandwiched between Sydney and Brisbane, places like Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Byron Bay and Tweed Heads cater for semi-retired city residents looking for sea and tree changes,” he said.

“This combined with the higher percentage of tourism jobs that are often part-time means that this strip of coast has some of the highest number of part-timers in the country.”