How Many Hours Is Part-Time? (And What to Expect from a Part-Time Job)

To reiterate, there’s no universally agreed-upon line at which a full-time job becomes part-time. The majority of full-time employees work 8 hours per day, which translates to 40 hours per week, and some companies consider anything under that to be part-time.

However, the two major US government bodies that define part-time employment draw the line more liberally:

• US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS): The BLS classifies individuals who work fewer than 35 hours per week as part-time employees, and those who work more than that as full-time employees. This definition is used for statistical purposes and has no actual legal implications. 1
• Internal Revenue Service (IRS): Again, the IRS defines a “part-time employee” as anyone who works under 30 hours per week, or under 130 per month. These cutoff points are used to determine whether an employee is entitled to health insurance from most employers.

Individual companies sometimes have their own definitions of part-time and full-time work. This may affect their internal policies, but, like the BLS’s definition, it doesn’t affect how their jobs are classified from a legal standpoint.

What types of jobs are usually part-time?

Part-time jobs can vary enormously, but speaking very generally, they’re often lower-level than full-time positions. They typically come with fewer benefits (such as health insurance) and tend to have looser hiring criteria. That isn’t universally true, and there are plenty of exceptions.

The following jobs are particularly likely to be done on a part-time basis:

• Administrative and clerical work (e.g., secretarial work, etc.)
• Childcare and elder care
• Cleaning (particularly domestic cleaning)
• Customer service
• Delivery driving
• Food service (waiting tables, barista work, etc.)
• Retail work
• Substitute teaching
• Taxi driving
• Warehousing

That list is far from exhaustive, and almost any type of work can be done on a part-time schedule.

Why do people work part-time jobs?

People work part-time for various reasons. Some do so as a matter of necessity, meaning that part-time jobs are the only ones they can find (a common situation when the job market is bad).

However, plenty of people gravitate to part-time work by choice. They’re generally either those with out-of-work commitments that prevent them from working full-time, or who are already financially well-off and don’t need (or want) to work a full 30-to-40-hour week.

Types of people who often choose to work part-time

Many people who opt for part-time work fall into one of these groups:

• Students: College students and high schoolers often work part-time jobs. That’s because their schedules are already packed, and they simply don’t have the time to take on full-time employment.
• Caretakers: Taking care of another person, whether it’s a child, parent, or someone else, eats up a lot of time and energy. Part-time jobs let people with dependents balance their caretaking and financial responsibilities.
• Retirees: Having a part-time job allows retired people to stay active and connected to their communities. It doesn’t hurt that they get to earn extra money along the way.

Here again, that list isn’t complete, and there are plenty of people who elect to work part-time who don’t fall into those groups.

Part-time work isn’t inherently better or worse than full-time work, but it is different. We’ve listed its biggest perks, as well as its main disadvantages:

Pros of part-time work

• Greater flexibility: As obvious as this might seem, the biggest perk of working part-time is simply that it … takes up less time. Part-time jobs are usually more accommodating of outside commitments (e.g., school, childcare, etc.) than full-time ones.
• Potential for multiple jobs: Some people take advantage of the flexibility of part-time work to juggle multiple jobs at once, diversifying their income streams, gaining varied work experience, and making more money (in some cases, as much or more than a single full-time job would pay).
• Work-life balance: If you’re financially well-off enough to get by with just a part-time job, doing so can bring greater work-life balance. You’ll be less likely to burn out and can devote more time to pursuing your hobbies and spending quality time with your family and friends.

Cons of part-time work

• Lower earnings: All other things being equal, you’ll earn less with a part-time job than with a full-time one. For this reason, people who work part-time out of necessity (i.e., because the job market is poor and they can’t find a full-time position) are particularly likely to hold multiple jobs.
• Limited benefits: Part-time jobs often come with fewer benefits, such as health insurance, than full-time jobs. We’ll cover this in more detail below.
• Inconsistent hours: A lot of part-time work is shift-based, and not all employers schedule shifts predictably or consistently. You might have no real idea of what your schedule will be like from week to week.
• Limited potential for advancement: Because part-time jobs are usually lower-level than full-time jobs (many are entry-level), they’re less likely to give you the opportunity to take on challenging assignments and go after promotions or otherwise advance in your career.
• Less job security: When companies struggle financially, part-time employees are often the first ones to have their hours cut or be let go entirely.

Overall, working part-time is a mixed bag. It won’t eat up as much of your schedule as full-time employment, but it’s also less lucrative and often involves taking on less desirable work.

If you perform well, part-time roles can serve as a stepping stone to full-time roles within the same company, which can mitigate some of their disadvantages. However, that entirely depends on the company and the job in question.

In most respects, as a part-time employee, you have essentially the same rights and obligations as full-time workers. You’re taxed at the same rate and have to file your taxes in the same way.

You’re also entitled to the same protections under most federal labor laws. These include the Fair Labor Standards Act, which regulates the minimum wage and overtime pay that employers must offer, and the Civil Rights Act and Equal Employment Opportunity Act, which protect you from discrimination in the workplace.

The main difference between part-time and full-time employment concerns the workplace benefits you’re entitled to receive, such as health insurance.

Are you entitled to health insurance as a part-time worker?

As a part-time employee, you’re less likely to receive health insurance coverage from your employer.

Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), companies that are designated applicable large employers (ALEs) are required to provide a certain level of coverage to full-time employees, but not to part-timers. A company is an ALE if it has 50 or more full-time employees.2

The degree of coverage that ALEs are obligated to provide is known as “minimum essential coverage.” Broadly speaking, it’s meant to cover 60% of the healthcare expenses that an average person is expected to deal with.

If you’re a part-time worker—or if you’re a full-timer but you don’t work for an ALE—you aren’t legally entitled to receive health insurance coverage and may have to acquire it elsewhere. That doesn’t necessarily mean that your company won’t pay for your insurance, because some employers do so as a perk even when they don’t have to.

Make sure you check (and understand) your benefits package before you sign a contract for any job, regardless of whether it’s full-time or part-time.

Are part-time workers entitled to paid time off and sick leave?

There are no federal laws that obligate employers to provide paid time off (PTO) or sick leave to part-time workers.

However, they aren’t obligated to provide either to full-time workers, either. On the federal level, how much leave an employer provides (and, in fact, whether they provide any leave at all) is entirely up to their own discretion.

That said, some states have stricter regulations that obligate businesses to provide at least some leave (e.g., 40 hours of paid sick leave per year). These laws generally apply to both part-time and full-time workers equally. Check your local and state laws so that you know what your rights are.

As with health insurance, many employers offer more leave than they legally have to. The bottom line is that before you accept any job, no matter how many hours you’ll be working per week, you should make sure your employer has clearly stated all of your benefits and rights in writing and take the time you need to review them and make sure they’re acceptable.