Overview
- The Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung reports the part-time share rose to 40.3% in Q2 2026, with part-time jobs up 0.5% year on year and full-time jobs down 0.9%.
- Overall employment fell 0.5% to about 45.7 million people and total employee hours dropped to 14.4 billion hours compared with the post‑COVID recovery period.
- The IAB links the trend to stronger hiring in sectors with high part-time rates, such as schools, hospitals and day‑care, and to job losses in industries with many full‑time roles, notably manufacturing.
- Usual weekly hours moved only slightly, at 30.50 hours for all employees, 38.32 hours for full‑time and 18.88 hours for part‑time workers, while self‑employed and family helpers saw hours fall by 1.2%.
- IAB researcher Enzo Weber says the economy has stabilised but labour volume is declining, a shift that could weigh on productivity, wage dynamics and the capacity of public services and shape debates on whether to lengthen working time.