AI Workforce
◇ Lagging Indicator

The Short Shift

Involuntary part-time share of employment

Historically follows Initial Unemployment Claims (SA) by 1 quarter — no active signal. Initial Unemployment Claims (SA) · View projections

What is the current The Short Shift?

PART-TIME FOR ECONOMIC REASONS
2.88% ↓ Improving
of the employed are working part-time only because they cannot find full-time work

Involuntary Part-Time Share of Employment: 2.88% as of 2026-06, and improving. Source: Computed (BLS LNS12032194 / CE16OV via FRED).

The Short Shift at 2.9%

Tracking improving relative to recent baseline.

Source: Computed (BLS LNS12032194 / CE16OV via FRED) via FRED (LNS12032194) ↗
Related signals confirming this trend
The Adoption Curve
10%
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1,044.8
Machines now handle professional tasks that would take 26 work-weeks of human time
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The Tech Drought
76K ↑ Worsening
Tech companies stopped hiring and the data shows it
AI Workforce

How has The Short Shift changed over time?

CSV Chart
Some workers want full-time hours and can only find part-time
Workers part-time for economic reasons as a share of employment
The Short Shift
Data: Computed (BLS LNS12032194 / CE16OV via FRED) Updated Jul 2026

Most affected counties

Counties with the highest labor scores in the County Distress Index.

1 Imperial County CA 100 2 Yuma County AZ 99.9 3 Dawson County NE 99.9 4 Luna County NM 99.9 5 Colusa County CA 99.8 6 Tulare County CA 99.6 7 Merced County CA 99.4 8 Starr County TX 99.4 9 Maverick County TX 99.3 10 Kern County CA 99.2
Explore all 3,144 counties →
Historical data
Monthly · Computed (BLS LNS12032194 / CE16OV via FRED)
Period Value YoY Change
Jun 2026 2.88% +0.1 pts
May 2026 2.95% +0.1 pts
Apr 2026 3.04% +0.2 pts
Mar 2026 2.76% −0.2 pts
Feb 2026 2.7% −0.3 pts
Jan 2026 2.99% +0.3 pts
Dec 2025 3.26% +0.6 pts
Nov 2025 3.35% +0.6 pts
Sep 2025 2.81% −0.1 pts
Aug 2025 2.91% −0.1 pts
Jul 2025 2.87% +0.0 pts
Jun 2025 2.74% +0.1 pts

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Involuntary Part-Time Share of Employment?

Involuntary part-time share of employment

Why does Involuntary Part-Time Share of Employment matter for financial distress?

Involuntary Part-Time Share of Employment is one of the indicators tracked by the American Distress Index (ADI), which measures five dimensions of U.S. household financial distress: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Changes in this indicator contribute to the overall distress picture.

Where does the Involuntary Part-Time Share of Employment data come from?

This data comes from Computed (BLS LNS12032194 / CE16OV via FRED). More information: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS12032194. The American Distress Index updates this indicator monthly.

Ross Kilburn
Written by

Ross Kilburn, Founder

American Default Research · Seattle, Washington
𝕏 @

Two decades working directly with financially distressed American households — from property preservation in 2003, to negotiating over 1,000 short sales during the Great Recession, to foreclosure defense marketing today. Author, The Ark Law Group Complete Guide to Short Sales (Auroch Press, 2013). Twice named to Puget Sound Business Journal Fast 50 for Ark Law Group. B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1992. Founded American Default Research in 2026 to fill a gap in public data that had been empty since 2013.

Read more
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Why does The Short Shift matter?

The Short Shift is one of 98 live indicators tracked by American Default Research. The methodology page explains sources, update cadence, and how the index uses its published inputs.
View methodology →
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