Part-time employment reaches record high of 39.9% in Germany

Germany's part-time employment rate reached a record peak in 2025, official figures showed.

The Institute for Employment Research found that the number of part-time employees increased by 1% last year to 16.88 million, constituting 39.9% of the workforce.

By contrast, the number of full-time employees fell by 0.6% to 25.43 million.

According to the IAB, one reason for this is that employment has increased in sectors with a high proportion of part-time workers, such as health and social services.

At the same time, it has declined in sectors with a high proportion of full-time workers, such as industry.

"Part-time work has not been a losing proposition so far," said IAB expert Enzo Weber. "Nevertheless, there is still much to be gained here, especially in terms of greater professional development for women."

Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative bloc has been calling for German employees to work more, with some questioning whether the legal right to part-time employment should be withdrawn.

In total, the number of people in employment in Germany remained roughly the same last year at 45.98 million, with around 61.26 billion hours work, 0.2% less than a year earlier.

On average, employees in Germany worked 30.4 hours per week in 2025, the same as in 2024. By comparison, the figure for 2016 was 30.12 hours.