According to data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) released on Monday, the percentage of part-time workers in Germany increased to 29 percent in 2024. Women were more than four times as likely to work part-time as men, with nearly half (49 percent) of women working part-time compared to just over one in nine men (12 percent). This marks a new record high for both genders.
The employment rate for individuals aged 15 to 64 reached a remarkable 77 percent in 2024, also setting a new record. The employment rate for men stood at around seven percentage points higher than that of women, at 81 percent and 74 percent, respectively.
Over the past 20 years, the gap between men and women in terms of employment rates has significantly narrowed. Since 2005, the employment rate for women has increased by approximately 15 percentage points, from nearly 59 percent, while the increase for men was slightly lower, at around 10 percentage points (2005: 71 percent). This rise in employment has also been accompanied by an increase in the proportion of individuals working part-time. Between 2005 and 2024, the part-time rate for both women (from 43 percent to 49 percent) and men (from 7 percent to 12 percent) in the age group of 15 to 64 years rose by approximately five percentage points.
Among parents with minor children, 92 percent of fathers were employed in 2024, compared to only 71 percent of mothers. The gender gap is even more pronounced among parents with children under three years old: nine out of ten fathers (89 percent) were employed, while only four out of ten mothers (40 percent) were. The employment rates for fathers with children under three years old and under 18 years old have only slightly increased since 2005 (+3 and +4 percentage points, respectively), while the employment rates for mothers with children under three years old and under 18 years old have significantly risen (+12 and +11 percentage points, respectively).
Among employed mothers, the part-time rate was higher than the overall part-time rate for women. In 2024, 68 percent of all mothers with children under 18 years old worked part-time and even 73 percent of mothers with children under three years old did so. In contrast, only 8 percent of employed fathers with children under 18 years old and 9 percent with children under three years old worked part-time, compared to all employed men. While the part-time rate for mothers has remained largely unchanged since 2005, it has increased by approximately four percentage points for fathers.