Total part-time employees in the labour force in New Zealand - Data and Analysis (1987-2034)

IBISWorld estimates the number of part-time employees will rise by 2.1% during 2026-27, to 595.8 thousand people. This increase reflects a weakened economy rather than a strong one. With the unemployment rate reaching 5.4% in the December 2025 quarter, its highest since 2015 according to Stats NZ, employers have leaned on part-time and flexible staffing to contain costs, and some full-time positions have been scaled back to part-time hours. At the same time, workers unable to secure full-time roles have taken up part-time work, further lifting the count. Working the other way, the adult minimum wage rose by 2.0% to $23.95 an hour on 1 April 2026, lifting employment costs in the lower-paid service industries where part-time work is concentrated and limiting how far the part-time count could grow.Part-time employment requires an individual to work less than 30 hours per week. Over the past five years, the number of part-time employees has increased. The share of employees working part-time in total employment has risen from 17.3% in 1986-87 to an estimated 20.3% in 2025 (latest data). Some part-time and casual employees have increased their hours to more than 30 per week and average weekly hours worked in New Zealand have expanded over the past decade. Many businesses have increasingly preferred to offer staff part-time contracts to allow more flexible working arrangements. However, the growing casualisation of the workforce has not offset the upwards trend in weekly hours worked, as some employees hold multiple jobs.Rising female participation in the labour force continues to lift the number of part-time employees, as women are more likely than men to work part-time. In general, women are more likely to balance childcare and household responsibilities with paid work and they made up 67.7% of all part-time workers in the March 2026 quarter, according to Stats NZ. This share has steadily fallen from almost 80% in the late 1980s as women have increasingly entered full-time work. Even so, the pool of employed women has grown fast enough to more than offset that shift, keeping the number of female part-time workers on a long-run upwards path, which has contributed to a higher aggregate number of total part-time employees in the labour force. Overall, IBISWorld estimates the number of part-time employees to rise at a compound annual rate of 1.5% over the five years through 2026-27.