Switzerland has second-most part-time workers in Europe

Part-time work in Switzerland continues to increase, with the latest figures from the Federal Statistical Office showing that over a third of employees work less than 90%.

The figures, said the statistical office on Thursday, show a marked increase in part-time work over the past 20 years: from 26.3% to 36.7%.

This puts Switzerland second in Europe for part-time working, behind resounding leader the Netherlands, where 50.7% of the population work less than 100%. Swiss neighbours Germany (28.2%), France (18.8%) and Italy (18.7%) all have lower levels of part-time work; in Europe, Hungary (4.8%) and Bulgaria (2.4%) have the lowest levels.

Women in Switzerland are three times more likely than men to be working reduced hours (taking care of young children being the most frequent reason given), but the proportion of males taking on jobs below 100% has been increasing quicker.

Service sector jobs are most likely to be part-time, notably in the arts, private home work, teaching, health, and social sectors.

According to the Travail.Suisse union, part-time workers will continue to increase in the coming years, due to the growth of the service sector and digitalisation. The rights and prospects for such workers need to be taken into account by politicians, the union says.