(de-news.net) – The Institute for Employment Research (IAB) has cautioned that a substantial share of part-time employment in Germany does not reflect voluntary individual choice, a point it has emphasized amid renewed political debate over potential limits on the statutory right to part-time work. Drawing on its labor market analysis, the institute estimates that the unmet desire of current part-time employees to work longer hours would, if realized, correspond to the equivalent of approximately 1.4 million full-time positions. Beyond this immediately measurable potential, the IAB has argued that additional labor reserves exist among workers who have not yet considered extending their working hours, noting that improved structural conditions—most notably the expansion of childcare provision—tend to increase preferred working time rather than locking workers into permanently reduced hours.
Based on IAB projections, the share of part-time workers among the population aged 15 to 64 is expected to exceed 40 percent this year, following its initial rise above that level in mid-2025. This marks a pronounced structural shift when compared with the early 1990s, a period in which the part-time rate stood at just over 20 percent. The institute has attributed the most recent increase to a combination of interrelated developments, including the erosion of full-time employment in parts of the industrial sector, a gradual decline in overall preferences for long working hours, and rising labor market participation among women and older workers, groups that statistically exhibit a higher propensity for part-time employment.
Meanwhile, the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) warned that the proposal by the CDU’s business wing to narrow the legal entitlement to part-time work would likely reduce, rather than expand, overall employment and would conflict with the expressed preferences of many full-time employees seeking shorter working hours. From the DIW’s perspective, restricting access to part-time work risks intensifying existing shortages of skilled labor, constraining economic growth, and increasing the likelihood of corporate insolvencies, thereby undermining broader economic stability.
Left Party for ending “harmful” minijob system
The initiative itself originated within the CDU’s labor and business organizations, which have called for limiting the right to part-time work to cases involving clearly defined justifications, such as childcare responsibilities, the care of dependent family members, or participation in continuing education. This position has prompted strong opposition from the Social Democratic Party. SPD lawmakers have argued that many employees are already working close to the limits of their physical and mental capacity and that additional pressure could translate into higher burnout rates and earlier withdrawal from working life. From their standpoint, labor supply could be mobilized more effectively by addressing structural disincentives—such as the minijob system or spousal income splitting—rather than by weakening established labor rights.
Comparable objections have been raised by Die Linke, which has characterized the proposal as a direct challenge to Germany’s roughly 17 million part-time workers and as having a disproportionate impact on women. The party has questioned whether curtailing part-time rights would be compatible with European nondiscrimination law and has urged the federal government to focus instead on supporting workers who wish to increase their hours but face institutional or employer-related barriers. Abolishing the “harmful” minijob system would be an important first step, rather than penalizing those who work part time, a representative of Die Linke said.
