---
title: "Part-Time for Economic Reasons"
slug: part-time-for-economic-reasons
summary: "The number of people working part time for economic reasons was little changed at 4.5 million in September 2026"
category: "Jobs"
unit: thousands
frequency: monthly
direction: bidirectional
latest_value: 4501.0
latest_period: "2026-09"
trend: stable
last_updated: "2026-10-02T00:00:00Z"
source: "U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data retrieved via FRED"
source_url: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS12032194
canonical_html: https://americandefault.org/indicators/part-time-for-economic-reasons/
citation_apa: "Kilburn, R. (2026). Part-Time for Economic Reasons [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/part-time-for-economic-reasons/"
citation_chicago: "Kilburn, Ross. 2026. \"Part-Time for Economic Reasons.\" American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/part-time-for-economic-reasons/."
citation_mla: "Kilburn, Ross. \"Part-Time for Economic Reasons.\" American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/part-time-for-economic-reasons/."
---

# Part-Time for Economic Reasons

> The number of people working part time for economic reasons was little changed at 4.5 million in September 2026

## Current Reading

As of September 2026, Part-Time for Economic Reasons is **4.5 million** (stable).

working part time for economic reasons, little changed from the month before

## What Changed

- The number working part time for economic reasons was little changed at 4.5 million in September 2026 (4.4 million in August 2026).
- Little changed from 4.6 million a year earlier.

## Recent Values

| Period | Value |
|--------|-------|
| 2026-09 | 4.501M |
| 2026-08 | 4.39M |
| 2026-07 | 4.804M |
| 2026-06 | 4.681M |
| 2026-05 | 4.805M |
| 2026-04 | 4.942M |
| 2026-03 | 4.497M |
| 2026-02 | 4.396M |
| 2026-01 | 4.873M |
| 2025-12 | 5.341M |
| 2025-11 | 5.487M |
| 2025-09 | 4.594M |

## Historical Context

This series is not comparable end to end, so no all-time extreme or long-run average is published for it. The source changed what it measures on the following date(s):

- January 1994: In January 1994 BLS redesigned the Current Population Survey and began requiring people who usually work part time to say they want and are available for full-time work, so counts before and after are not comparable. Source: https://www.bls.gov/cps/revisions1994.pdf

Compare readings only within a single segment. Subtracting across one of these dates measures the change in method, not in household conditions.

## Methodology

This indicator carries monthly observations and is interpreted as moving in both directions against household distress, with no single end of the range reading as the distressed one. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data retrieved via FRED.
Automation: collected automatically on the daily refresh pipeline, with no hand entry.

## Source

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data retrieved via FRED — [https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS12032194](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS12032194)

Data retrieved: 2026-10-02T00:00:00Z

## Related Indicators

- [u-6-underemployment-rate](https://americandefault.org/indicators/u-6-underemployment-rate/)
- [unemployment-rate](https://americandefault.org/indicators/unemployment-rate/)

## Machine-Readable Endpoints

- HTML page: https://americandefault.org/indicators/part-time-for-economic-reasons/
- JSON: https://americandefault.org/api/indicators/part-time-for-economic-reasons.json
- CSV: https://americandefault.org/api/downloads/part-time-for-economic-reasons.csv
- BibTeX: https://americandefault.org/citations/part-time-for-economic-reasons.bib
- RIS: https://americandefault.org/citations/part-time-for-economic-reasons.ris

## Citation

**APA 7th**

    Kilburn, R. (2026). Part-Time for Economic Reasons [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/part-time-for-economic-reasons/

**Chicago (author-date)**

    Kilburn, Ross. 2026. "Part-Time for Economic Reasons." American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/part-time-for-economic-reasons/.

**MLA 9th**

    Kilburn, Ross. "Part-Time for Economic Reasons." American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/part-time-for-economic-reasons/.

Use **American Default Research** as the institutional name in source lists, bibliographies, and press citations. **American Default** is the brand and URL form. **American Distress Index (ADI)** is the product name for the national composite score.