Part-time working in Ireland in a European context

Abstract

The subject of part-time work is one which has become increasingly important in industrialized economies, most notably Norway, Sweden, United States, Canada, Denmark and the United Kingdom, where it accounts for a substantial and growing proportion of total employment. It has been noted that resort to part-time workers was generally a response to a shortage of available labour, particularly when it coincided with periods of economic boom. However the view that part-timers would be engaged at times of economic upturn and be among the first categories of workers to be let go at periods of recession has not been upheld during the last decade. It is now recognized that part-time working is no temporary practice. Rather it represents a growth segment of an otherwise static to falling labour force in many developed economies.