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Part-Time Employment
for Women
The jobs they hold
Why they work part time
Duration of their employment
A look into the future
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
James P. Mitchell, Secretary
WOMEN’S BUREAU
No. 273
Mrs. Alice K. Leopold, Director
M'S. >
A'/e^edJa.be (io-f-hth)
Part-Time Employment
for Women
Women’s Bureau Bulletin 273
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
James P. Mitchell, Secretary
WOMEN’S BUREAU
Mrs. Alice K. Leopold, Director
Washington, D.C.
1960
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1960
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington 25, D.C. - Price 30 cents
No, 013
Foreword
More and more working women are employed on part-time jobs.
Expansion in the trade and service industries-which have tradi
tionally employed large numbers of part-time workers-has absorbed
much of this increase. Projected increases in the labor force
participation of women in all age groups indicate that part-time em
ployment may have an even greater impact on the Nation’s man
power resources in the future than has been true in the past.
The increased importance of part-time work has stimulated
greater interest in collecting information about the nature and ex
tent of part-time employment. Within the past few years, a great
deal of new information has become available for analysis.
This bulletin presents and interprets the new data so as to show
the impact of part-time work on the economy as a whole, and on job
opportunities for women seeking part-time work.
The labor market of the future will be significantly influenced by
the manner in which the projected increase in the supply of women
part-time workers and the demand of industries for these workers
are balanced. Women seeking part-time work will find pertinent
information in this report on occupations which lend themselves to
part-time schedules, and employers should find the data on women
part-time workers useful in their personnel planning.
Alice K. Leopold,
Assistant to the Secretary of Labor
and Director, Women’s Bureau.
iii
A cknowledgments
This report was prepared in the Women’s Bureau by Jane L.
Meredith, under the supervision of Shirley B. Grossman. Stella P.
Manor, Chief of the Bureau’s Division of Program Planning, Analysis,
and Reports, directed the preparation of the bulletin.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to members of the many asso
ciations, unions, business firms, and Government agencies which
cooperated in the preparation of the bulletin by providing statistical
data, interviews, and editorial comments. Special thanks is due the
Current Labor Force Reports Section of the Bureau of the Census,
United States Department of Commerce, for making available the
unpublished data upon which much of the report was based.
The photographs were made possible by the courtesy of the
following:
Hotel Association of New York City, New York, N.Y. (p. vi).
American Telephone and Telegraph Co., New York, N.Y. (p. 35).
Giant Food, Inc., Landover, Md. (p. 34).
Julius Garfinckel & Co., Washington, D.C. (pp. 4, 36, 40).
Lord & Taylor, New York, N.Y. (p. 4).
Montgomery County School Board, Md. (p. 26).
The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. (pp. 27, 28).
The Washington Post, Wally McNamee, Washington, D.C. (p. 22).
Washington Hospital Center, Washington, D.C. (p. vi).
IV
Contents
Page
Introduction
1
I. Part-time work and the Nation’s economy
Weeks worked by women part-time workers_____________
II. Who are the women part-time workers?____________________
Age_______________________________________________________ ___________
Marital status
10
Children
11
Region__________________________________
III. Why do women work part time?
13
Age
14
Marital status______ __________________________________________________
Occupation
16
IV. Where do women find part-time jobs?
17
Industry
18
Services
18
Trade
19
Manufacturing _________________________________________________
Other industries
Occu pations
Professional, technical, and kindred workers______________________
Managers, officials, and proprietors________
* Clerical workers__________________________
Salespersons
37
Service workers
38
Private household workers
42
Craftsmen, operatives, and laborers
43
Farm workers
44
V. Part-time work in the future
45
The impact of population changes
45
Other influences on part-time work
49
VI. Suggestions to women seeking part-timework
51
Financial considerations
51
Schedules
51
Occupations
52
Recruitment methods
52
3
5
8
8
12
15
20
22
23
25
32
32
NOTE: In the statistical tables, the sums of individual items may not always equal totals
because of rounding.
V
The majority
of part-time workers
are women.
■M &
*VE#—
Part-time jobs are plentiful
for experienced waitresses.
Nursing offers many part-time
employment opportunities.
Introduction
Women from widely different backgrounds make up the female
part-time labor force. The woman who works part time may be a
student who combines her studies with work to help meet her ex
penses and to obtain valuable experience for the years ahead. She
may combine her role of wife and mother with that of worker so that
she may contribute to the family income, broaden her interests out
side the home, and keep intact her work skills. Finally, she may be
a mature woman who finds that the lightening of home responsibili
ties as her children grow up frees her for part-time employment, or
she may be a retired person who works to supplement retirement
income.
Part-time employment is of increasing importance today—to the
women who hold or are seeking part-time jobs, to the employers
who now or in the future may find part-time workers a valuable
part of their work force, and to all those interested in the manpower
needs and resources of the economy.
It is important because more women are now working part-time
than at any time in the Nation’s history. Between 1950 and 1958,
there was a larger relative increase in the number of women on part
time jobs than in the number of men so employed. Furthermore,
over the same period, the percentage increase in the number of
women part-time workers was significantly larger than the relative
gain in the number of women or men employed full time. From
1955 to 1975, the number of women working part time is expected
to expand by more than 75 percent, in contrast to an advance of
about 50 percent in the number working full time.
Part-time employment of both men and women is claiming a
larger share of the total work force. Approximately 15 percent of
all workers were employed part time in 1950, while in 1958 the pro
portion had climbed to 20 percent. This growth in part-time em
ployment may be attributed to a number of factors. Trade and
service industries-typically areas of high part-time employmentare employing a somewhat larger proportion of all workers today.
In addition, individual industries are hiring increased proportions of
part-time workers. Over one-fourth of all wage and salaried workers
in nonagricultural industries were employed part time in 1958, in
1
contrast to about one-fifth for 1950. The entry of larger numbers
of young people and women into the labor force has also been an
important factor in the increase in part-time employment. These
groups have provided a supply of workers willing and, in fact,
anxious to work on part-time schedules, and have met the increased
demands of industry for part-time employees.
What Is Part-Time Work?
The identifying characteristic of part-time employment is a
shorter than normal workweek. Schedules might be arranged for
several hours each working day, for a few full workdays per week,
or some combination of full- and short-hour days.
The concept of what constitutes a “shorter than normal” work
week may differ among employers and employees. The employer
who operates a business which is open only 4 days a week or 6 hours
a day would probably consider the employee who was on the job all
those hours a full-time worker. However, the worker might con
sider the job as “part time.” Since the most common workweek in
this country is the 40-hour week, the woman seeking part-time em
ployment would probably think in terms of a job which required a
workweek of substantially less than 40 hours. Some industries,
however, consider 35 hours per week or even less as standard. The
1- to 34-hour week nevertheless represents a useful definition of
part-time employment in terms of the economy as a whole, even
though it may not be perfectly suited to each individual segment of
industry.
Part-time work should not be confused with temporary or seasonal
work, which describe a full week’s work of 35 or more hours, but for
less than a full year. Although the part-time worker may also
work less than the full 52 weeks in a year, it is the shorter hours
worked per week which identify her as a “part-time” employee.
Seasonal or temporary full-time work is not covered in this report.
The Bureau of the Census of the United States Department of
Commerce defines full-time employment as a standard workweek of
35 hours or more, with the 1- to 34-hour week representing part
time work. The Census definition of part-time employment as “less
than 35 hours per week” is used in this study. This definition has
been selected primarily because a large body of useful statistics has
been collected using this criterion, and because it seems reasonable
from the point of view of the woman who seeks to work less than a
standard workweek.
2
I
Part-Time Work
and the Nation’s Economy
The increasing importance of the female part-time labor force to
the Nation’s manpower resources is clear when its magnitude and
growth are considered. Throughout 1958 nearly one-third of the
almost 29 million women who worked at some time during the year
were part-time workers (table 1). They were represented in every
major industry and occupation group. Over half of them worked
27 weeks or more during 1958.
Furthermore, the number of women part-time workers increased
by 47 percent from 1950 to 1958, while women working full time
showed only a 15 percent increase. Virtually all of this growth in
the female part-time labor force has occurred during the years since
1954. The period from 1950 through 1953 showed little change
from the nearly 614 million figure recorded in 1950. But in 1954,
the number of women part-time workers climbed to over 6% million,
and in subsequent years showed constant (though uneven) growth
to over 9 million in 1958.
A distinctive characteristic of part-time workers is that the ma
jority of them are women. During 1958, almost three-fifths of all
part-time workers were women, whereas they constituted slightly
Table 1.—Work Experience
of the
tion,
1950
Civilian Noninstitutional Popula
and
1958
Number of persons (in thousands)
1958
Work experience
Percent change 1950 to
1958
1950
Men
W omen
Men
Women
Men
All persons 14 years of
age and over
_
57, 310
62, 932
52, 419
56, 751
+ 9. 3
+ 10. 9
Worked during year__
48, 380
28, 736
45, 526
23, 350
+ 6. 3
+ 23. 1
42, 051
6, 328
19, 623
9, 113
41, 043
4, 484
17, 140
6, 211
+ 2. 5
+ 41. 1
+ 14. 5
+ 46. 7
Full time
Part time _
Women
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. Current Population Reports, Series
P-50, Nos. 35 and 91.
3
539126 0-60—2
The number of women part-time workers has risen in every age group.
This mature cashier in a tea room gives the customer a receipt.
The young salesperson in a specialty store completes a sale.
less than a third of the full-time labor force. In both 1950 and
1958, women represented about the same proportion of the part
time labor force. However, 1958 was a recession year in which the
number of men working part time because of slack work was accen
tuated.
Changes between 1950 and 1958 show that the part-time labor
force grew markedly faster after 1953 than did the number of full
time workers. Part-time jobs claimed 27 percent of all women who
worked during 1950 and 25 percent in 1953, but thereafter showed
successive yearly increases, to 32 percent of all women who worked
during 1958.
Part-time jobs are also claiming larger shares of all women work
ing in almost every major occupation and industry group.
The characteristics of the members of the female part-time labor
force and the industries and occupations which employ them reveal
that these women fill a real need for a supply of part-time workers
in many businesses, just as part-time jobs meet the demand from a
large group of women for varied, shorter-than-usual hours sched
ules. Many establishments in trade and service industries need
part-time workers to meet peak business periods, to relieve regular
employees from unusually long hours, and to perform duties which
require less than a full week’s work. In turn, a number of women
desire only part-time work because of responsibilities at home or at
school, or for other reasons.
Weeks Worked by
Women Part-Time Workers
Approximately one-third (3 million) of all women who worked
part time in 1958 were year-round workers. Almost as many (2.7
million) were employed 3 months or less. Another 1.5 million
women worked part time from 3 to 6 months, while the remainder
worked more than 6 months but less than a full year.
The largest increase (from 1950) in the number of women working
part time occurred in the group working year round (50 to 52
weeks), followed closely by the group working almost a full year (40
to 49 weeks) and those working 3 months or less (table 2).
The increase in year-round part-time workers has come mainly
from the influx of older women into the part-time labor force.
Women 45 and over account for more than half of the growth in
this group from 1950 to 1958.
5
Table 2.—Number
of
Weeks Worked Part Time
Group, 1950 and 1958
by
Women,
by
Age
Number of women working part time (in thousands)
Age group
Total
13 weeks
or less
14 to 26
weeks
27 to 39
weeks
40 to 49
weeks
50 to 52
weeks
1958
All women 14 years of
age and over
_
14 to 17 years___
18 and 19 vears__
20 to 24 years____
25 to 34 years___
35 to 44 years___
45 to 54 years___
55 to 64 years___
65 years and over_
9, 113
2, 708
1, 585
878
888
3, 054
1, 474
439
574
1, 444
1, 804
1, 613
1, 176
589
738
190
209
485
449
317
209
111
296
70
123
285
324
248
150
89
117
52
55
129
200
149
127
49
75
36
55
135
196
189
130
72
248
91
132
410
635
710
560
268
6, 211
1, 756
1, 332
639
571
1, 916
365
132
142
402
335
198
133
54
219
73
132
259
238
218
133
63
74
12
44
148
162
111
67
21
56
25
44
79
127
107
71
61
144
56
74
280
466
433
311
147
1950
All women 14 years of
age and over
.
14
18
20
25
35
45
55
65
to 17 years___
and 19 years__
to 24 years___
to 34 years___
to 44 vears to 54 years- _
to 64 years___
years and over.
860
294
440
1, 164
1, 328
1, 068
716
344
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. Current Population Reports, Series
P-50, No. 35 (1950); unpublished data (1958).
The increase in the number of women working part time for less
than 13 weeks is attributable in large part to the rising numbers of
young girls working part time. Girls aged 14 to 17 accounted for
almost 40 percent of the growth in this group, with the remainder
of the increase somewhat evenly distributed among the other age
groups.
While women part-time workers account for almost one-third of
the female labor force, they account for a markedly smaller propor
tion of all hours worked by women.
This is more readily seen when hours worked are expressed in
equivalent year-round full-time work, or “man years.”
It is estimated that some 9 million women who worked part time
during 1958 worked the equivalent of nearly 2,750,000 year-round
full-time working years. Women who worked primarily at full-time
jobs during that year numbered almost 19,668,000 and presented a
combined total of almost 15,500,000 “man-years” worked. Thus,
the hours worked by women part-time workers accounted for ap
proximately 15 percent of all time worked by women (table 3).
6
Table 3.—Number
of
Weeks
and
1950
Man-Years Worked
and 1958
by
All Workers,
{In thousands)
Total who worked
Man-years worked
Weeks worked
Both sexes
1958
All workers 14
years of age
and over _
Women
_
1950
1958
1950
1958
1950
77, 117 68, 876 3, 165, 101. 5 2, 858, 310. 0 58, 542 53, 977
28, 736 23, 350 1, 043, 904. 0
841, 059. 5 18, 140 14, 999
Full time____
Part time___
Men
658, 793. 0 15, 401 13, 176
770, 051. 0
19, 623 17, 140
1, 823
2, 739
182, 266. 5
273, 853. 0
9, 113 6, 211
48, 380 45, 526 2, 121, 197. 5 2, 017, 250. 5 40, 402 38, 978
Full time___
Part time___
1, 880, 557. 5 38, 381 37, 611
42, 051 41, 043 1, 919, 060.
1, 367
136, 693. 0 2, 021
202, 137. 0
6, 328 4, 484
Source: Cols. 1 and 2, U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. Current Population Reports,
Series P-50, Nos. 35 and 91. Cols. 3 to 6 computed from 1 and 2. Method: Gertrude Bancroft, “The Ameri
can Labor Force, Its Growth and Changing Composition,” pp. 90-91.
7
II
Who Are the
Women Part-Time Workers?
A composite of the most common characteristics of the female
part-time worker in 1958 would reveal a married woman between
35 and 44 years of age. Typically, she would work in a service or
trade industry, rather than in agriculture, manufacturing, or public
administration. Her occupation would be one of those which falls
into the “service worker” category—such as waitress, private house
hold worker, beauty operator, elevator operator, or practical nurse.
The same composite would serve to represent the woman part-time
worker in 1950.
However, this “typical woman” conceals many differences among
all part-time women workers, and many changes which have taken
place since the beginning of the decade.
Age
From 1950 to 1958, the number of women part-time workers in
creased in every age group, and within each group there was a faster
rate of growth for part-time than for full-time employment
(table 4).
These figures indicate that part-time work has made its largest
gains in the younger age groups, particularly the ages 14 to 17 when
most girls are still in school. Only 36 percent of all girls in this age
group worked at all during 1958. Full-time employment within
these ages has actually declined since 1950, while there was a more
than one-half million increase in the number of part-time workers.
Thus, part-time employment has shown a very large proportionate
growth, and in 1958, over 77 percent of all girls aged 14 to 17 who
worked were part-time workers.
Upon graduation from high school, many girls turn from part
time to full-time employment, or if they have not worked before,
enter the labor force with full-time jobs. Thus, in 1958, two-thirds
of the girls aged 18 and 19 were working and the large majority of
8
Table 4.—Women Who Worked Part Time,
by
Age Group, 1950
1958
Age group
All women 14 years of age
and over.. _____. _ .
14
18
20
25
35
45
55
65
to 17 years
to 19 years._ _ _
to 24 years
_
to 34 years ______
to 44 years._ __
to 54 years
to 64 years..
years and over.
and
1958
1950
Number
(In thou
sands)
Percent
distribu
tion
As percent
of all
women
who
worked
9, 113
100
32
1,474
439
574
1, 444
1, 804
1, 613
1, 176
589
16
5
6
16
20
18
13
6
77
29
17
27
29
28
34
51
Percent
distribu
tion
As percent
of all
women
who
worked
6, 211
100
27
860
294
440
1, 164
1,328
1, 068
716
344
14
5
7
19
21
17
12
6
62
23
13
22
26
27
32
48
Number
(In thou
sands)
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. Current Population Reports, Series
P-50, No. 35 (1950); unpublished data (1958).
them were employed full time. Some young women, on the other
hand, were lengthening the number of years of their school attend
ance and consequently postponing entry into the full-time labor
force, while others were marrying earlier than their predecessors so
that family responsibilities may have caused them to work part time
instead of full time. This is shown by the fact that part-time em
ployment claimed almost 30 percent of working girls aged 18 and
19 in 1958, compared with less than 25 percent in 1950. The
440,000 girls in this age group working part time in 1958 repre
sented an increase of nearly 50 percent over the number so employed
in 1950.
Age groups from 20 to 45 showed a lower than average increase in
part-time employment, although gains in these groups also were
substantial.
While the total number of working women aged 20 to 24 actually
decreased by 2.2 percent from 1950 to 1958, part-time workers in
the same group increased by 30 percent.
As women with young children left the full-time labor force for
part-time work, total numbers of female part-time workers showed
a large increase in the 25 to 34 age group. The 1,440,000 women in
this category working part time in 1958 represented an increase of
24 percent from the 1950 level.
Many women within the ages of 35 to 44 found it possible to work
on a part-time basis as all of their children reached school age and
home duties lessened. Within this age group, part-time women
workers totaled more than 1.8 million in 1958—an increase of more
than one-third over the 1950 level.
9
Over one-fourth of women workers aged 45 to 54 were at work
part time in 1958. They numbered 1,613,000, an increase of ap
proximately one-half over the 1950 figure.
Finally, in the age groups of 55 and over, part-time employment
showed even greater relative gains. The total number of these
women part-time workers was somewhat lower than that for other
adult women—about 1.2 million in the 55 to 64 age group, and just
over half a million in the 65 and over group. Part-time jobs, how
ever, claimed more than a third of the 55-to-64 age group who
worked in 1958, and more than half of the 65-and-over group.
Marital Status
The majority of women who worked part time during 1958, as in
1950, were married and living with their husbands (table 5). How
ever, the composition of the female part-time labor force according
to marital status changed slightly during these years.
Table 5.—Women Who Worked Part Time,
by
Marital Status, 1950
1958
Marital status
All women 14 years of age
and over .
____
Single _____
_
_
Married (husband
present)
_ ___
Other l. __
_ __
Number
(In thou
sands)
Percent*
distribu
tion
9, 113
100
and
1958
1950
As percent
of all
women
who
worked
Number
(In thou
sands)
Percent
distribu
tion
As percent
of all
women
who
worked
32
6, 211
100
27
2, 261
25
34
1, 428
23
22
5, 430
1, 418
60
16
33
26
3, 827
970
62
16
31
23
1 “Other’' includes persons widowed or divorced, and all married persons whose place of residence was
not the same as that of the spouse.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. Current Population Reports, Series
P-50, No. 35 (1950); unpublished data (1958).
Single women held 25 percent of all part-time jobs in 1958, in
comparison with 23 percent in 1950. The number of married
women on part-time jobs declined from 62 percent in 1950 to 60
percent in 1958. Widowed, divorced, and separated women remained
at 16 percent of the total. The growth of the unmarried group may
be associated with the large increase in the number of young girls
working part time.
Further, a larger proportion of all working women from each
marital-status group are part-time workers. This growth is espe10
daily apparent among single women, as about one-third of them
who worked during 1958 did so on a part-time basis, compared with
less than one-fourth in 1950.
Children
The presence of children and the ages of those children have a
decided effect upon the labor force behavior of their mothers.
Available data reveal that, in 1956, the older her children, the
greater number of weeks a mother tended to work, whether on a
full-time or part-time basis (table 6). In addition, wives with no
children under 18 tended to work full time to a greater extent than
did mothers of children under 18.
Table 6.—Work Experience
of
Wives,
1950
and
1956
As percent of all wives who worked _
Percent distribution:
All wives who worked
. __
_____
Presence
____
50 to 52 weeks
40 to 49 weeks 27 to 39 weeks
1 to 26 weeks. _
Part time
27 weeks or more
1 to 26 weeks___ _____
and
Age
of
Children,
1956
No children
under 18
Work experience of wife
Full time
by
1950
Children 6 to 17
1956
1950
Children under 6
1956
1950
45
40
48
40
31
25
100
100
100
100
100
100
75
76
64
64
65
61
44
10
8
13
26
40
10
10
16
24
31
8
8
17
37
25
8
10
21
36
16
6
10
33
36
12
5
10
34
39
17
9
14
10
22
15
20
16
17
19
16
22
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. Current Population Reports, Series
P-50, Nos. 35 and 81.
In contrast, relatively more working mothers with school-age
children held part-time jobs in 1956 than did working mothers of
children under 6—a reversal of the 1950 pattern. One might expect
that mothers of very young children would work only part time due
to pressure of home duties. However, a substantially smaller pro
portion of women in this group worked at all, and it may be that
those who did, worked because financial responsibilities made it
necessary. In this case, the same monetary pressures would have
encouraged them to work full time rather than part time.
11
539126 0-60—3
Region
Evidence is not available in sufficient detail to show which areas
in the United States offer the most part-time jobs in specific
occupations or industries.
Generally, the North Central States show the largest propor
tion of the total female work force engaged in part-time jobs—
largely due to the many part-time agricultural workers found there.
The Western States show the largest proportion of their non
farm workers employed on a part-time basis, followed by the North
Central and Southern States.
Finally, women workers from the Northeastern States show the
smallest proportion engaged in part-time work, both in farm and
nonfarm industries.
This varying concentration of part-time jobs may be related to
the way in which American industry is geographically distributed.
Part-time work claims the lowest proportion of female employment
in the Northeastern States, which in turn show the highest concen
tration of employment in manufacturing industries—those which
typically offer few part-time jobs. On the other hand, Western
States show the highest proportion of nonmanufacturing employ
ment—typically high in part-time opportunities—and also claim the
largest proportion of nonfarm part-time employment.
12
Ill
Why Do Women
Work Part Time?
The great majority of women who work part time rather than
full time do so for noneconomic reasons, according to detailed data
compiled by the Bureau of the Census for March 1959 (table 7).
Most are busy with home or school duties, or simply do not wish to
work full time.
Part-time workers are classified in the Census reports by their
usual employment status—part time or full time—and by their
reason for working part time rather than full time—economic or
noneconomic. Reasons are classed as economic or noneconomic
from the point of view of the entire economy, rather than from the
viewpoint of the individual worker. Therefore, slack work, shortages
of materials, repairs to plant or equipment, start or termination of
a job during the week, and inability to find full-time work are
termed economic reasons. Noneconomic reasons include labor
disputes, bad weather, own illness, vacation, demands of home
or school duties, no desire for full-time work, full-time worker only
during peak season, and so forth.
As their primarily noneconomic motives suggest, about four-fifths
of the women working in early 1959 listed “part-time” as their usual
employment status, and the remainder were usually full-time
workers who were employed part time during the week of the
survey.
Almost all of those who usually worked part time for non
economic reasons singled out demands of home or school duties, or
lack of desire for full-time jobs, as the cause. Those who usually
worked part time for economic reasons were largely accounted for
by the group who could not find full-time work, and a few who
listed slack work as the cause.
Of the group who usually worked full time, but were working part
time during the week of the Census survey, about two-thirds gave
illness, bad weather or other noneconomic reasons. The remaining
one-third cited economic reasons, primarily slack work.
13
Table 7.—Women
at
Work Part Time, by Reasons
March, 1959
for
Part-Time Status
Number of women (in thousands)
Reasons for part-time status
In agricultural industries
Usually work Usually work
full time on
part time on
present job
present job
All who worked part time
Worked part time for eco
nomic reasons.
_
Slack work________
_
Materials shortages____
Repairs to plant or
equipment _
Start of new job
Termination of job
Could find only part
time work
Worked part time for other
reasons
_
_
Holiday- _____ __ _
Labor dispute
_
Bad weather
Own illness
_
On vacation.___
.
Demands of home and
school duties____
Did not want full-timejob
__ __
Full-time worker only
during peak season__
Other
In nonagricultural industries
Usually work
full time on
present job
Usually work
part time on
present job
53
409
998
4, 579
11
46
342
710
9
0
32
0
289
3
162
1
0
2
0
0
0
0
2
30
12
0
3
1
0
14
6
542
42
363
657
3, 869
0
0
11
9
0
0
0
0
7
0
23
0
81
293
32
3
0
3
96
4
1
253
21
2, 253
0
31
5
1, 114
15
5
45
28
18
184
30
366
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. (Unpublished data.)
Age
The large majority of women of all ages who were working part
time during the Census survey in March 1959, customarily worked
on a l-to-34 hour weekly schedule. Only about one-fifth were
women who usually worked full time, but, for a variety of reasons,
were working part time at the time of the survey.
Further, approximately 85 percent of those who customarily
worked part time did so for personal and other noneconomic reasons.
Since most girls aged 14 to 17 were in school, their availability for
work was limited for the most part to part-time schedules. Almost
all girls aged 14 to 17 who worked part time customarily did so for
noneconomic reasons.
14
Most women aged 65 and over who worked part time also named
noneconomic reasons. The need for reduced physical effort and the
eligibility for pensions which reduced the need for full-time earnings
were probably important factors for these women. However, the
need to supplement retirement incomes may have caused many to
enter the labor force in part-time jobs.
From the remaining age groups, about three-fourths of the girls
aged 18 and 19 and two-thirds of the women between 20 and 65 who
worked part time did so for noneconomic reasons.
Marital Status
As with women in the different age groups, most women part-time
workers in all marital status categories were women who customarily
worked part time for noneconomic reasons.
Single women’s reasons for working part time were largely non
economic. Those who usually worked part time for noneconomic
reasons constituted 80 percent of all single women working part
time. This was attributable largely to school attendance among
young single girls aged 14 to 17, and, to a lesser extent, those aged
18 and 19—who accounted for about three-fourths of this group.
Married women living with their husbands also worked part time
primarily for noneconomic reasons. Seven out of every 10 of those
who worked part time usually did so for noneconomic reasons.
However, only a little over half of the women part-time workers
who were widowed, divorced, or separated gave noneconomic reasons
for their customary part-time status. Within this group, reasons
for part-time work differed with respect to age. Women 65 and
over, few of whom worked at all, indicated noneconomic motives
much more frequently than did widowed, divorced and separated
women in other age groups. Approximately 84 percent of those 65
and over who worked part time cited noneconomic reasons. In con
trast, for women between 18 and 64 who usually worked part time,
the proportions citing noneconomic reasons ranged from 39 percent
to 55 percent. About 21 percent of the widowed, divorced and sep
arated women working part time were usually part-time workers for
economic reasons—a figure markedly higher than that for other
marital status groups.
15
Occupation
Generally speaking, women part-time workers in most of the
occupation groups were women who usually worked part time for
noneconomic reasons. Between 70 and 80 percent of women in
part-time professional, managerial, clerical, sales, service and farm
ing occupations customarily worked part time for noneconomic
reasons.
However, figures for women working as operatives and craftsmen
reveal the more limited availability of regular part-time employment
in these fields.
In early 1959, a decidedly higher proportion of women operatives
were working part time because the economy was unable to provide
them with full-time jobs. Though not unemployed, they were,
economically speaking, under-employed. Only 49 percent of female
craftsmen and 31 percent of female operatives who worked part
time were usual part-time workers for noneconomic reasons. While
the total number of female craftsmen was relatively small, there
were over 3 million female operatives, with about 23 percent of
them at work part time. Almost half of these part-time operatives
named economic reasons for working part time, and one-third of
them were usually full-time workers working part time during the
Census survey week because of slack work or other economic reasons.
When these figures are considered, it becomes clear that a markedly
smaller proportion of women operatives were, voluntarily working at
regular part-time jobs.
16
IV
Where Do Women
Find Part-Time Jobs?
Women worked part time in every major industry and occupation
group in 1958. An examination of the different industries and the
occupations within those industries reveals marked variations in the
nature and extent of part-time employment.
Many women worked part time as sales clerks in retail stores, as
waitresses in eating and drinking places, as practical nurses in health
services, as beauty operators in personal service establishments, and
as private household workers.
In addition, a number of women from professional occupations—
such as teaching, nursing and librarianship—worked part time in
educational and health services.
Public administration—Federal, State and local—employed a size
able number of women part-time workers. Those on part-time
schedules included such occupational groups as public officials,
clerical workers (including postal workers), protective service
workers (policewomen), and some operatives.
Manufacturing industries showed some part-time employment of
women, most of whom worked as operatives. However, many of
these operatives worked part time for economic reasons such as
slack work or materials shortages, rather than by choice.
A few industries, including construction, and forestry, fishing, and
mining, showed very small total employment of women, and only
negligible part time.
A large number of women worked part time in agriculture—as
farmers and laborers. However, the great majority of these were
unpaid family workers.
The remaining female part-time workers were self-employed in a
variety of industries during 1958. Many were undoubtedly pro
prietors of retail stores and personal service establishments.
17
A few occupational groups exist in a variety of industries. For
example, clerical workers were employed part time as cashiers and
telephone operators working in retail trade, service industries, trans
portation and communication, and as office workers in virtually all
industries.
Industry
As might be expected, most of the 7,250,000 female part-time
workers in nonagricultural industries were wage and salary workers.
They accounted for over 6 million of the total, while the selfemployed and unpaid family workers amounted to about one-half
million each.
Services
The majority of women working part time outside of agriculture
were employed in one of the many service industries. These in
cluded finance, insurance, real estate, personal services, entertain
ment, education, medical and welfare, and other service establish
ments. Such industries were often particularly adapted to use of
part-time workers because of marked fluctuation in business during
the day or week, or because of unusually long or short hours of
operation. About 3,750,000 women were working part time in
service industries in 1958, and these part-time workers accounted
for one-third of all women working in such establishments (table 8).
About 2 million of these part-time workers in service industries
were private household workers-including domestic servants, baby
sitters, and so forth (table 9). Almost two-thirds of all women who
worked in private households were employed part time. Over 300,
000 worked in other personal service industries, such as hotels, laun
dry and dry cleaning plants, dressmaking and tailoring establish
ments, and barber and beauty shops. Educational services em
ployed over 425,000 part-time women workers, including part-time
clerical, food service and custodial help, as well as part-time teachers
and administrators. Another 350,000 women worked part time in
medical services and hospitals. Welfare and religious services, fi
nancial institutions, business and repair services, entertainment and
recreation and other professional services claimed the remaining
637,000 women wage and salary workers on part-time schedules in
service industries.
18
Trade
Over 1,750,000 female wage and salaried part-time workers were
employed in wholesale and retail trade in 1958, making trade the
second largest industry employer of female part-time workers. As
with the service industries, daily or weekly peaks in consumer de
mand and long business hours encouraged the use of a large number
of part-time workers in trade establishments. Close to one-third of
all female wage and salaried workers in the trade industries were
employed part time. Most of these women worked in retail trade—
about one-half million in eating and drinking places, and 1,250,000
in other retail establishments, such as department stores, food
stores, and limited price variety stores. In addition, a large num
ber of other women—about 50,000 of them—were self-employed pro
prietors of retail establishments.
The service and trade industries together accounted for about 5V2
million of the slightly more than 6 million female wage and salary
workers employed part time in nonagricultural industries. Most of
the remaining were in manufacturing, with a few in public adminis-
Table 8.—Work Experience
of Women Waoe
Industry, 1958
Major industry group
and
Salary Workers,
by
Part-time workers
Total number
with work
Total number
Percent
As percent of
experience
(In thousands) (In thousands) distribution all with work
experience
All women wage and salaried
workers 14 years of age and
over .
24, 767
6, 702
Agriculture
_
- ________
Forestry, fisheries, mining
Construction
_
............
Manufacturing
_
839
44
160
4, 913
522
15
28
425
Durable _
Nondurable
Transportation, communication,
and other public utilities__ .
Wholesale and retail trade
Private household
_ . __ _
Service industries, except private
household _
__ _
Public administration_____
1, 926
2, 987
100
27
8
6
62
33
18
9
106
319
2
5
6
11
850
5, 758
3, 095
70
1, 785
1, 968
1
27
29
8
31
64
8, 116
992
1, 736
153
26
2
21
15
(■)
(')
1 Less than 1 percent.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. Current Population Reports, Series P-50,
No. 91.
19
539126 0-60—4
Table 9.—Work Experience of Women Part-Time Workers
Industries, 1958
Service
Part-time workers
Total number
with work
experience
Total number
Percent
As percent of
(In thousands) (In thousands) distribution all with work
experience
Service industry
All women wage and salaried
workers 14 years of age and
over _
__
Finance, insurance, and real
estate
. .
Business and repair services
Personal services, except private
households
Private households
.
Professional services
in
11, 211
----- --------
3, 704
100
33
— _____________________
-
1, 343
387
153
123
4
3
11
32
1, 183
3, 095
5, 201
319
1, 968
1, 141
9
53
31
27
64
22
Educational services
Entertainment and recrea
tion services
Health services
______
2, 262
433
12
19
255
1, 917
117
347
3
9
46
18
Hospital
Medical, except hospi
tal _
_
Welfare and religious services_
Other professional services__
1, 353
231
6
17
564
380
387
116
162
82
3
4
2
21
43
21
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.
Series P-50, No. 91; unpublished data (1958).
Current Population Reports,
tration and transportation, communication and other public utili
ties, and negligible numbers in construction, and in forestry, fish
ing, and mining.
Manufacturing
The significance of the manufacturing industries as a source of
regular part-time employment deserves some mention at this point.
While 425,000 women reported to the Census Bureau that they
worked part time in manufacturing industries at some time during
1958, statements from industry representatives suggest that a good
deal of this represents “underemployment,” or slack work, rather
than voluntary part-time employment.
Women working part time in manufacturing were found to be
largely concentrated in the nondurable sectors—primarily apparel,
textiles, and food.
20
Representatives of the apparel industry stressed the fact that it
is one of those industries in which the 35-hour week is regarded as
standard, with individual firms sometimes reporting less than 35
hours as the regularly scheduled workweek. Further, even one
hour’s absence from a 35-hour week schedule would place an em
ployee in the part-time status according to the Census definition.
Both the apparel and textile industries report that the combina
tion of a highly seasonal industry with a share-the-work policy dur
ing slack periods makes for high part-time employment, according
to the Census definition, during many weeks of the year. Between
seasonal peaks, the work is divided among all employees rather than
keeping some full time and laying off the rest. Thus, large numbers
of employees may be working fewer than 35 hours per week, but the
reason would be the “economic” one of slack work, and the usual
employment status might be full time. Therefore, in this case the
existence of part-time employment indicates underemployment in
stead of regular part-time job opportunities. The existence of regu
lar part-time work for noneconomic reasons appears to be extremely
scarce in both the apparel and textile industries.
Many of the same factors apply to the case of part-time work in
the food industries. The seasonal variation in the food industry is
quite marked, with high employment for long hours following har
vest, and low employment of a full-time skeleton crew during slack
periods. When asked to account for the relatively large part-time
employment of women as shown in the 1950 Decennial Census, in
dustry representatives pointed out that this census was conducted
in the month of April—generally a build-up period to the large peak
in late spring and summer. Seasonal crews may have been working
only short hours to process the few crops already harvested. While
someone seeking part-time work in the food industry might be taken
on during the seasonal peak simply because of the high demand for
labor, opportunities for regular part-time work throughout the year
were described as very limited.
In addition, the printing and publishing industry employed a sub
stantial number of female part-time workers. Many of these
women were probably working as operatives, with a few others in
professional or clerical occupations. Reports from the industry in
dicated that a number of bindery workers were employed part time,
as were some newspaper reporters and clerical employees in adver
tising departments.
Little part-time employment of women was found in durable
goods manufacturing, which included industries manufacturing lum
ber and stone products, primary and fabricated metals, machinery,
transportation equipment, professional and photographic equip-
21
■
\
Postal clerks operating automatic canceling and sorting machines—a relatively
new field for women part-time workers.
ment, and so forth. Very few women part-time workers were found
in electrical machinery manufacturing, most of whom worked in
small manufacturing plants, according to industry representatives.
Other Industries
Public Administration. More than 150,000 women were em
ployed part time by government agencies. Over half of these
women Were employed by local public administration. Their occu
pations most likely included part-time public officials and inspec
tors, protective service workers such as policewomen, office workers,
22
personal service workers such as charwomen and cleaners, and a few
operatives.
Close to 30 percent of the women working part time in public ad
ministration were found in the postal service. Some of these women
were probably post mistresses in small post offices located in retail
stores and in their own homes. Others were working as clerks. A
post office in one large city reported employment of over 300 female
clerks who performed mail canceling and sorting operations. Most
of these women were working part time from 2 to 5 hours per day.
The few remaining women working part time in public adminis
tration—less than 15 percent of the total—were employed by State
and Federal Government.
Transportation, Communication, and Other Public Utilities.
Transportation, communications, and other public utilities employed
approximately 70,000 female part-time workers. Many of these
were undoubtedly working as telephone operators in the communi
cations industry, and in a variety of other clerical positions. They
were employed as cashiers, ticket agents, secretaries, stenographers
and typists, bookeepers, and so forth.
Construction, and Forestry, Fishing, and Mining. Only
a few women worked part time in the construction industry, and in
forestry, fishing, and mining. Clerical occupations very likely
accounted for most of these workers.
Agricultural Industries. During 1958, more than 1,750,000
women worked part time in agriculture. However, over 1,250,000
were unpaid family workers, so that opportunities for paid employ
ment on a part-time basis were much more limited than the total
number of those working part time might suggest. Slightly more
than one-half million of those in paid employment were wage and
salary workers, and the few remaining were self-employed.
Occupations
Women working part time were found in each of the 11 broad oc
cupational groups in 1958 (table 10). However, a small number of
occupations accounted for a very large portion of total part-time
employment of women. Over one-third of all women working part
time held jobs as service workers (including private household
workers). More than one-fourth were working in clerical or sales
occupations. Another one-fifth were employed in farming occupa
tions. Most of the remaining women part-time workers were em
ployed in professional positions and as operatives.
23
Table 10.—Work
Experience
of
Women
Occupation, 1958
Occupational group
All women wage and salaried
workers 14 years of age and
over
Professional, technical, kindred
workers
.
___ ___
Health workers
_
.
Teachers
Other professional
__ . _
Farmers and farm managers__
Managers, officials, proprietors,
except farm.
.
__
Salaried „
_
Self-employed, retail trade-.
Self-employed, except retail
trade _
_
Clerical, kindred workers Secretaries, stenographers,
typists.. . ________
Other clerical___
__ __ .
Sales workers
.... _
Retail trade
Other industries__
_
Craftsmen, foremen, kindred
workers.
__
Operatives, kindred workers
Durable goods manufac
turing _
. .
Nondurable goods manu
facturing
_
Other industries _
Private household workers______
Service workers, except private
household
Waitresses, cooks, barmaids.
Other service__ ____
_
Farm laborers, foremen
.
Wage workers
Unpaid family workers. _ __
Laborers, except farm and mine-
Part-Time
Workers,
BY
Part-time workers
Total number
with work
experience
Total number
Percent
As percent of
(In thousands) (In thousands) •listiibution all with work
experience
28, 736
9, 113
100
32
3, 168
862
1, 409
897
124
618
182
165
271
72
7
2
2
3
1
20
21
12
30
58
1, 269
631
418
212
91
49
2
1
1
17
14
12
220
7, 685
72
1, 347
1
15
33
18
2,
5,
2,
2,
599
086
484
260
224
298
1, 049
1, 126
1, 029
97
3
12
12
11
1
11
21
45
46
43
245
4, 068
37
639
7
15
16
953
58
1
6
2, 059
1, 056
3, 031
223
358
1, 975
2
4
22
11
34
65
4,
1,
2,
2,
1, 309
571
738
1, 731
506
1, 225
46
14
32
33
31
73
63
79
30
135
747
388
370
804
1, 566
155
(0
6
8
19
6
13
1
i Less than 1 percent.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. Current Population Reports, Series
P-50, No. 91; unpublished data.
24
Professional, Technical, and Kindrefl Workers
Over 600,000 women worked part time in professional, technical
and kindred occupations in 1958—about one-fifth of all women work
ing in these fields. Almost as many—584,000—were part-time pro
fessional, technical, and kindred workers in March 1959.
Teachers. About 165,000 women were employed as part-time
teachers outside of colleges and universities during 1958. Included
in this classification were teachers and administrators in secondary
and elementary schools and kindergartens, as well as teachers of
such diverse subjects as driving, first aid, sewing, and others. Some
teachers of music and art, who were grouped with musicians and
artists, also worked part time.
Working hours of teachers include time spent outside of class in
preparing lessons and grading papers in addition to hours worked
when school is in session. Since Census enumerators were in
structed to count time worked outside school hours in computing
hours worked, most regular teachers should be included under the
full-time worker category. However, these hours are often irregu
lar and difficult to enumerate, so that there may be some tendency
to underestimate them. For this reason, regular full-time teachers
may sometimes be recorded as working less than 35 hours per week,
and as a result be mistakenly classed as part-time workers.
A large portion of the women employed part time as classroom
teachers were working as substitute teachers, according to school
administrators and teachers. Some cities and towns maintain lists
of women willing to work as substitute teachers, and call on them
when the need arises. Qualification requirements vary from State
to State, with some schools requiring regular teacher certification
for substitute teachers. Salaries were often based on a flat daily
rate, regardless of previous experience or degrees held. One school
administrator in a large city stated that a capable teacher with good
experience could probably find opportunities for substitute teaching
on a fairly regular basis.
Some opportunities also existed for part-time teaching in evening
schools. Students in these courses were mainly adults, and the
subjects offered were mostly at the high school level. Qualifications
varied from State to State with respect to certification requirements
for evening school teachers. One large city reported that it did not
require these teachers to fulfill regular certification requirements.
Evening school teachers in this city were paid a fixed hourly rate,
regardless of previous teaching experience. Representatives of the
teaching profession stressed the desirability of uniform qualification
standards for part-time and full-time service.
25
, , • m HI
Ife.
Si
..........
Women seeking part-time work as school teachers, including substitute teaching,
should apply directly to local Boards of Education.
In addition, there may be some employment of teachers of special
subjects such as art or music on a part-time basis. However,
schools in larger cities reported that these teachers were generally
hired full time to teach in different schools each day or two.
Finally, one city reported an experiment with part time “lay
readers to grade papers in their own homes. These readers were
required to have a college degree with strength in a special subject
area. They were paid on the basis of the number of papers graded,
and could expect to make about $300 per school year in 1959-60.
26
Teaching of special subjects such as music, art, or crafts, also of
fered a number of part-time employment opportunities to women.
Well over half of all women working as musicians or music teachers
during the 1950 Census were employed part time. Many of these
women were probably music teachers, either self employed or teach
ing in schools.
College Teachers. A survey by the National Educational As
sociation of almost 1,000 degree-granting institutions in 1958-59,
showed employment of over 50,000 teachers classified by the schools
as part time. The part-time teachers represented close to 30 per
cent of all teachers employed. In the same survey, almost 500
junior colleges reported employment of over 7,500 part-time
teachers—close to 40 percent of total teacher employment.
Use of part-time teachers was concentrated in universities, where
large numbers of graduate students are available to teach introduc
tory courses.
In another study by the University of Bridgeport during 1957-58,
a survey of 36 urban universities showed that the 16 largest schools
Larger universities employ the greatest number of part-time college teachers. This
teacher at a large university uses a tape recorder in her Romance language class.
i* ?l - .....
W.'
School libraries are a good source of part-time employment for women. The
reference librarian in this university library helps a student select her research
materials.
employed an average of 16.1 percent of total faculty on a part-time
basis, while the 20 smaller schools employed an average of 13 per
cent of total faculty on a part-time basis. Only half of the institu
tions reported any orientation or other preparation of new part-time
teachers, and in most cases such activity was devoted primarily to
institutional orientation and teaching techniques.
Professional competence and teaching ability were the most fre
quently listed criteria for selection. Degrees held, various personal
qualities, and practical experiences were also important qualifica
tions. The most common recruitment source reported for part-time
faculty members was through local business and industry.
Salaries paid to part-time college teachers varied widely in the in
stitutions participating in the survey. Earnings of part-time
teachers of one 3-semester-hour course ranged from $355 to $535 per
semester. Small universities (those with less than 4,000 students
enrolled) paid somewhat higher salaries than did the larger schools.
28
Librarians. Over one-fourth of all persons who reported their
occupation as “librarian” in the 1950 Census were part-time work
ers. It is estimated that over 55,000 professional librarians—both
full and part time—were working in 1957.
Most part-time positions for librarians are likely to be located in
public libraries or in libraries connected with schools. Public li
braries and college and university libraries are usually open for long
hours, and can fit part-time schedules into their shift arrangements.
On the other hand, public school libraries may be open only part
time—less than 35 hours per week—to conform with regularly sched
uled school hours.
Qualifications for part-time professional librarian positions are
generally similar to those for full-time jobs. Completion of a 1-year
course in a library school after graduation from a 4-year college is
recommended by representatives of the profession to achieve the
status of “professional librarian.” However, trainee positions are
sometimes open to those with bachelor’s degrees who plan to take
the regular professional librarian training.
Salaries paid to part-time professional librarians vary greatly.
In some cities, they are proportionate to full-time workers’ salaries
on the basis of hours worked. In other areas part-time librarians
may receive hourly earnings somewhat lower than those paid to
full-time employees.
Part-time employment opportunities for professional librarians
are expected to be good for the next several years, due to the gen
eral shortage of librarians and the increasing numbers of married
librarians who wish to work shorter hours.
Professional Nurses. Part-time jobs may be found in all
branches of nursing, although some fields offer more opportunities
than others. Representatives of the profession stated that the ex
treme shortage of nurses makes use of part-time nurses necessary to
provide additional staff.
As with full-time employees, professional nurses who work part
time must complete registered nurses’ training. Those who wish to
work part time in specialties such as psychiatry or obstetrics may
be required to have special courses or experience in these fields.
Studies by the American Hospital Association indicate that more
than two-fifths of all general duty nurses employed in the hospitals
surveyed in 1958 worked part time. Furthermore, part-time em
ployment in this field has been rising since data became available in
1952.
29
A 1959 American Nurses’ Association survey of 414 nonfederal
general hospitals revealed a total of almost 6,000 part-time general
duty nurses—almost one-third of all general duty nurses employed
in those hospitals. The part-time nurses in the hospitals surveyed
had an average workweek of almost 20 hours. The median hourly
starting rate for part-time general duty nurses was $1.72 per hour.
Median hourly starting rates ranged from $2 in the West to $1.50 in
the Southeast. The majority of part-time nurses in the hospitals
surveyed indicated they were paid on an hourly basis, and most of
the remainder were paid a daily rate.
Private duty nursing, both in hospitals and homes, can offer a
number of part-time employment opportunities, since these nurses
are self-employed. Hours schedules could be arranged for week
ends or 2 or 3 days during the week. Nurses in such positions are
listed on a registry for private duty nurses. The nurses usually
charge a daily rate.
A 1958 survey of a selected group of over 2,200 office nurses re
vealed that 146—about 6 percent—worked part time. The median
hourly earnings of these nurses amounted to $1.88, and the median
hours worked per week were 24. The majority of these part-time
nurses received 2 weeks paid vacation after 1 year of service, al
though as many as 16 percent reported receiving no paid vacation
after 1 year. Formal sick leave provisions were not typical, and less
than 25 percent reported any specified number of days of paid sick
leave per year. The great majority did receive some paid holidays
per year.
Part-time nursing positions existed in the other fields of nursing,
including public health, occupational health, and nursing education.
Part-time public health nurses and occupational health nurses were
used primarily to relieve regular nurses during vacation or illness.
Professional nurses were also working part time as supervisors,
head nurses, instructors, administrators and nurse anesthetists in
hospitals and schools of nursing.
Generally, the extreme shortage of professional nurses is expected
to continue through the next several years. As a result, the de
mand for part-time workers to supplement short staffs and relieve
regular workers is also expected to continue.
Other Professional and Technical Workers in Health Fields.
The general shortage of qualified workers in health services served
to increase part time employment in other occupations. Some
women worked part-time as occupational and physical therapists or
as dietitians. Others working part time in a variety of technical
positions included dental hygienists, medical technologists, and
medical X-ray technicians.
30
Part-time employment opportunities were reported to be particu
larly good for dental hygienists in private dental offices. Hours ar
rangements are usually quite flexible, and may be arranged for half
days or a few full days per week.
Graduation from a dental hygiene school and a State license are
generally required for both full- and part-time dental hygienists.
Typically, this consists of a 2-year program in both technical skills
and basic sciences. Earnings, which may be based on a straight
salary or commission, are sometimes proportionately higher per
hours worked for part-time employees.
Part-time employment opportunities for dental hygienists are
good because of the shortage of full-time workers and the flexibility
of hours arrangements. Part-time jobs were reported to be espe
cially numerous in the West.
Social Workers. Full-time social workers with a master’s de
gree from an accredited school of social work were in short supply
in 1959. As in the case of health workers, this shortage resulted in
an increased need for part-time workers.
Members of the profession reported that use of part-time workers
is not heavily concentrated in any particular field of specialization,
although group work may offer more opportunities than any other
single field. In addition to professional positions, some group work
agencies offer subprofessional jobs as “group leaders” on a part
time basis.
Educational requirements for part-time professional jobs were the
same as full-time qualifications, and generally included graduate
training.
Studies in individual cities indicate that a supply of part-time
workers is available in the numbers of nonpracticing social workers
who may be willing to return to work on a part-time basis. One
such survey made in 1958 revealed that the great majority of non
practicing social workers who showed some interest in returning to
work expressed a preference for part-time jobs.
Representatives of the field felt that the major problem was in
bringing together the need of the agencies and the desire for part
time work. Until some central planning agency is developed, those
interested in part-time work must persist in searching out jobs
themselves, perhaps with the help of a local council of social or wel
fare agencies.
Other Professional and Technical Workers. Some women
worked part time in most of the many other professional fields—for
example, as artists, authors, designers, entertainers, photographers,
athletes, sports instructors, and welfare and religious workers.
31
One of these occupations—newspaper reporting—offered an inter
esting opportunity as “string correspondent” for the woman with
writing ability who wanted a flexible, part-time hours schedule.
These writers were often residents of communities surroundirig a
larger city who covered stories of more than local interest for the
city newspaper. Earnings were usually based on the number of
words printed and the nature of the job.
Newspaper editors and other publishers also purchased stories,
cartoons, art work, and photographs from free-lance workers. These
were self-employed writers and artists who could set their own time
schedules and sell the results of their creative efforts themselves.
Managers, Officials, and Proprietors
Over 200,000 women worked part time as managers, officials, and
proprietors during 1958—approximately 17 percent of all women in
that occupation group. This represented a substantial increase of
almost two-thirds from 1955.
Of these part-time managers, officials, and proprietors, the ma
jority were self-employed—nearly one-fourth in retail trade and onethird in a variety of other industries.
In addition, retail trade industries probably employed many of
those who were salaried.
A wide variety of occupations was included in this group—buyers,
managers and proprietors in retail trade; managers of apartment
houses and cafeterias; bankers; officers of membership organiza
tions; postmistresses; program directors in radio and television; cateresses; and the many different public officials.
Clerical Workers
Clerical occupations offer a great many employment opportuni
ties to women seeking part-time work. In 1958, over 1!4 million
women worked part time in such jobs. However, part-time workers
did not represent as large a proportion of this occupation as they
did of sales and service occupations. Slightly more than one-sixth
of all female clerical workers were part-time employees in 1958.
About 300,000 of these part-time workers were employed as secre
taries, stenographers or typists, and the over 1 million remaining
worked in a variety of other clerical positions.
Secretaries, Stenograhers, and Typists. Most secretaries,
stenographers, and typists work full time. Only one in 10 from this
occupation group worked less than 35 hours per week in 1958.
32
Industry representatives indicated that the great majority of the
300,000 working part time were probably employed as typists. Sec
retaries and stenographers are usually hired on a full-time basis.
Typists seeking part-time jobs may work in establishments whose
regular hours are less than 35 hours per week, such as some doctors’
and dentists’ offices, schools, welfare and religious services, nonprofit
membership organizations, and the like. In addition, typists might
find fairly regular work for a few hours or days per week in different
offices needing help for a special order or to relieve regular em
ployees. Some agencies specialize in filling such employment needs
by placing these workers on their own payrolls and referring them
to different businesses who request help. Part-time typists may also
arrange to work part time in their own homes. Some are self-em
ployed women who type theses, manuscripts and form letters, re
ceiving payment on the basis of the number of pages typed.
High school graduation is generally required for secretaries, ste
nographers, and typists, whether full time or part time. Previous
work experience is required by many employers, while even those
who do hire inexperienced part-time workers may offer higher sal
aries to those with previous job experience.
Salaries of part-time secretaries, stenographers, and typists vary
greatly from area to area and employer to employer. Several in
dustry representatives indicated that hourly earnings of part-time
employees were likely to equal or be higher than those of full-time
workers.
Part-time employment opportunities in these occupations are ex
pected to be good in the coming years due to the continued shortage
of full-time workers, the expansion of temporary help agencies, and
the generally high turnover in these fields.
Proofing Machine Operators. Proofing machine operators are
sometimes hired by banks for part-time work. These operators are
used to meet peak work at the end of banking hours, and to relieve
regular employees, who would otherwise have unusually long hours.
Operation of the machines, which list and sort checks, is learned onthe-job in a relatively short time. Hours schedules vary consider
ably, often from 4 to 5 hours per day in the afternoon. Hourly
earnings of part-time workers are sometimes slightly higher than
those of full-time employees.
Cashiers. A large number of women work part time as cashiers
in retail trade and in entertainment and recreation services. Al
most one-fifth of the women working as cashiers in 1950 were part
time employees. Retail trade employed the great majority of all
female cashiers—primarily food stores, eating and drinking places,
and general merchandise stores.
33
Many employment opportunities exist for women who wish to
work part time as grocery checkers in food stores. Some large
chains reported that as many as two-thirds of their cashiers are
part-time workers. Physical stamina and knowledge of basic arith
metic were listed as the main qualifications for food checkers.
A typical part-time schedule would include work for perhaps 2 or
3 evenings a week and all day Saturday. Thursday, Friday, and
Saturday are often the busiest days and some stores reported use of
part-time workers during midday peaks on those days. In addition,
since many stores are open 12 hours a day, part-time workers are
used to relieve regular employees, as well as to help meet peak busi
ness needs.
Wages varied somewhat, with up to approximately $2 per hour
paid to part-time cashiers with substantial previous experience.
Part-time workers were not eligible for fringe benefits in many
areas.
Many part-time employment opportunities for grocery checkers
will continue to exist in coming years as the number of food stores
increases, and as new workers are needed to replace those who leave.
A number of other establishments reported employment of part
time cashiers. Eating and drinking places hired part-time cashiers,
Jr
I
VA
W
*
Many employment opportunities exist for women who wish to work part time as
grocery checkers in food stores.
34
V*«5^
MXJ
^ \'
■kvv «
K '
A#®*;
Telephone operators may find part-time jobs in hotels and other industries
as well as waitresses and hostesses. Hours and working conditions
were generally similar for all 3 groups. Hours schedules were usu
ally concentrated around meal periods, and many part-time workers
received a higher hourly wage rate than full-time workers. In many
cases, however, part-time workers were not eligible to receive fringe
benefits.
Cashiers found part-time work in a number of other industries,
with opportunities especially numerous in the recreation and enter
tainment industry.
Telephone Operators. Women found part-time work as tele
phone operators in a variety of service and other establishments, as
well as in telephone companies. Hotels and other places where the
switchboard must be open on an around-the-clock basis reported use
of part-time telephone operators. Experienced part-time multipleboard operators were in demand, with some positions also offered
for one-position board operators on a part-time basis. Hours sched
ules were generally arranged for a few hours each day.
Some women also worked part time for telephone companies. In
June 1959, there were 6,500 part-time telephone operators in the
Bell System. Part-time workers as a percent of all employees have
generally fallen since 1945 in the 51 largest companies. In addi
tion, switchboard operating employees had fallen from over one-half
of the total employment in these companies in 1945 to just over
one-third in 1957.
35
’<‘8 *
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*]*(.»*«
T *•*>&*'*f**f
r
b/Sfl4** I
im.
!>ii
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f* ««/**!
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[*■** *«*■!'
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There are many opportunities for part-time employment in retail selling.
saleslady pleases a customer with the dress selected for her.
Here the
Hourly earnings in telephone companies and other establishments
were usually the same for full-time and part-time telephone oper
ators.
Employment opportunities are not generally expected to show
significant increases, due to expanded use of more automatic equip
ment. However, many job openings for both full-time and part
time workers will exist because of the high turnover rates among
the many young women in this occupation.
Other Clerical Workers. Office work offers many other em
ployment opportunities to women, including jobs such as book
keepers, office machine operators, receptionists, and file clerks. In
dustry representatives indicated that some part-time employment
exists in most of these fields.
Many of the remaining part-time clerical workers found jobs as
library assistants, telephone ad takers, or survey enumerators.
36
Salespersons
Saleswork was a major source of employment for women who
worked part time during 1958. Throughout the year, over 1,125,
000 women worked part time in sales positions, close to one-half of
all women working in sales jobs. Almost all of these women—over
1 million—worked in retail trade, while the remainder were found in
a variety of other fields.
Many salespersons worked part time for less than a full year.
Only about one-half of the number who worked part time at some
time during the year were working part time in a single month.
Retail Trade. A great many of the more than 1 million women
working in part-time sales positions in retail trade were salesclerks
in general merchandise stores, or in stores specializing in apparel
and accessories or furniture, home furnishings, and equipment.
No experience or special knowledge is required for many part
time sales positions. However, new employees may receive brief
training in how to operate a cash register, make out the various
types of sales tickets, and so forth. Many opportunities for part
time sales work are open to mature women. Such jobs may also be
open to young school girls.
Hours schedules for these jobs may be arranged for evening and
Saturday work, or for midday peak business hours.
Earnings of saleswomen vary greatly according to type and size
of retailing outlet and geographical location. A 1956 study of earn
ings of nonsupervisory employees in retail trade indicated that
women working 1 to 14 hours per week earned an average of 89
cents per hour, while women working 15 to 34 hours per week
earned an average of $1.02 per hour. This compared with average
hourly earnings of $1.23 for women who worked 40 hours per week.
Over half of the women working part time in retail trade earned
an average hourly wage of less than $1, and over four-fifths earned
less than an average of $1.25 per hour.
Earnings were generally higher than average in the West and
lower than average in the South, conforming with typical wage level
patterns. Stores in metropolitan areas paid higher w^ges on the
average than did those in nonmetropolitan areas. Some stores paid
commissions in addition to straight-time earnings. Many salesper
sons also received discounts on merchandise purchased in the store.
Part-time employment opportunities in retail selling are expected
to be very good in the future. The increasing number of suburban
stores will provide part-time job openings for women near their
homes. In addition, many workers will be needed to replace those
who leave the field.
37
Some women also worked part time as demonstrators and in doorto-door and telephone selling.
Other Salespersons. Some insurance companies hire women as
agents on a part-time basis. In 1950, approximately one-fifth of
the 25,000 female insurance agents and brokers were employed on
a part-time basis.
Extensive training in the principles of insurance and in costs and
benefits of various types of plans is required for entry into this field.
Two-thirds of the States require that an agent successfully complete
a written examination before a permanent license is granted. The
necessity of such a great amount of training may be a deterrent to
those interested in part-time work.
The ability to effectively organize a selling program is essential—
from seeking out prospective customers to assisting clients in bal
ancing protection needs with policy costs.
Insurance agents have a good deal of freedom in setting up their
own hours schedules, since evening and weekend work is often nec
essary in making appointments and visiting clients. Companies
may have minimum production requirements which part-time as
well as full-time agents must meet. However, some companies re
ported that these requirements were modest enough for part-time
agents to meet them.
Agents receive commissions on newly sold policies and renewal
commissions on policies which remain in force. Earnings may be
low in early years, when the agent has no backlog of renewal com
missions to add to income.
Some women work part time as real estate agents. Approxi
mately one-fourth of the female real estate agents and brokers work
ing at the time of the 1950 Census worked less than 35 hours a
week.
However, the importance of a thorough knowledge of the tax, in
surance, financing, legal and other aspects of the sale of real prop
erty calls for more training than part-time workers may be willing
or able to undertake.
In addition, agents must be on call at all times to show property
to prospective customers. Hours are, therefore, somewhat irregu
lar, and may be quite long when attention is being devoted to sev
eral properties.
Service Workers
Service workers (except private household workers) who were em
ployed part time during 1958, included more than 1,300,000 women
38
working as waitresses and cooks, beauty operators, protective work
ers, and a variety of other service occupations.
Waitresses. The “waitress and cook” category claimed over
one-half million women working part time. Industry representa
tives indicated that a large proportion of these women were probably
working as waitresses, since there were very few part-time jobs as
cooks. Part-time hostesses in eating and drinking places were also
included in this category.
Experience is required for many part-time positions, since the
work is concentrated in busy periods when quick and efficient serv
ice is required. Physical stamina is also a necessary qualification,
for continual standing and lifting of trays of food are part of the job.
A knowledge of fundamental arithmetic is required for accurate com
putation of customer’s bills.
Some part-time positions are available as banquet waitresses.
These jobs generally require considerable previous experience, since
efficient and faultless service are especially important at such func
tions. This required experience is recognized in the markedly higher
earnings paid to banquet waitresses. Competition for these jobs is
keen due to the high earnings potential.
Experienced waitresses can find ample opportunity for part-time
employment in many restaurants and hotels. The use of part-time
waitresses is traditional in eating and drinking places, since daily
peaks and lulls are inherent in the nature of the business. Because
fluctuations in business are daily, most part-time waitresses work
during one or sometimes two meal periods each day, rather than a
few full days per week.
Waitresses were working in one of the few occupations whose rep
resentatives indicated that part-time workers sometimes received
higher hourly rates of pay than full-time workers. The greater
number of tips received during busy parts of the day would also add
to earnings. Uniforms and meals during working hours may be sup
plied by the employer, but their cost may be deducted from wages.
Although many restaurants and hotels offer paid vacations, sick
leave, group benefit plans and other fringe benefits, most industry
representatives felt that part-time employees do not work enough
hours to make them eligible to receive these benefits.
Hostesses. The occupation of hostess is one to which waitresses
may sometimes advance. Part-time hostesses may supervise waiters
and waitresses, and are in one of the few occupational groups in
which part-time workers might have supervisory responsibilities.
An attractive appearance and pleasant personality were named as
important qualifications for both part-time and full-time hostesses.
As with waitresses, part-time hostesses generally work for a few
hours each day during meal periods or evening hours.
39
Beauty Operators. Beauty operators can find part-time jobs in
many shops due to both the marked weekly fluctuation in demand
for beauty services and the general shortage of qualified beauty
operators. Although no current data are available, the 1950 Census
revealed that about one-fifth of all beauty operators were part-time
workers.
Since beauty shops are located in suburban shopping centers, small
towns and rural areas, as well as in city centers, the beauty operator
who wishes to work only part time may find suitable openings in
her own neighborhood.
Part-time as well as full-time beauty operators must be licensed
by State cosmetology boards in almost all States. Women who wish
to operate beauty shops in their own homes on a part-time basis
may also be required to obtain a shop owner’s or shop manager’s
license.
Beauty parlor operators often find part-time work in their own neighborhoods.
*•
«*■
HP -
iW
Since customer demand is at a peak in the later part of the week,
part-time beauty operators may work 2 or 3 full days per week—
probably Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Earnings for beauty op
erators vary widely according to location and size of shop. Wages
may be on a commission basis or straight hourly rate, and tips may
add to total income.
Part-time job openings for beauty operators are expected to be
numerous in the coming years due to weekly peaks in demand, the
shortage of full-time workers, and continued growth in the number
of beauty shops.
Practical Nurses. Approximately one-eighth of all women work
ing as practical nurses in 1950 were part-time employees. Since that
time, increased use of practical nurses to free professional personnel
from less complex duties, as well as an accompanying shortage of
workers, have increased the number of part-time employment oppor
tunities. It is estimated that over 165,000 licensed practical nurses—
both full time and part time—were employed in early 1956. Mature
women may find practical nursing an interesting employment oppor
tunity, since many schools accept students up to 50 years of age.
Part-time jobs for practical nurses are most numerous in hospitals
and private homes.
All of the States (but not the District of Columbia) provide for
licensing of practical nurses—both full time and part time—and most
employers hire only those who have received these licenses. Typ
ically, a training period of 1 year is required for admission to
examination for licensure. Good physical and mental health is
another qualification.
Separate salary data for part-time practical nurses is not avail
able. However, a survey of 414 nonfederal general hospitals, in
February 1959, revealed that the median starting salary for full-time
practical nurses was $205 per month. The median salary for all
full-time practical nursing personnel was $217 per month.
Part-time practical nursing opportunities are expected to increase
in the coming years, due to the growth in demand for practical nurses
and general shortage of full-time workers in the occupation.
Charwomen and Cleaners. A large number of women worked
part time as charwomen and cleaners. Almost half of the 70,000
women at work in this occupation in 1950 were part-time employees.
Representatives indicated that absence of experience or training re
quirements brought many older women into this occupation as their
home responsibilities lightened. Hours schedules for individual em
ployees depend upon the type of building being serviced. In an
office or store, cleaning workers generally work during evening hours
after the close of the business day. In a hospital, hours are sched
41
uled during the day or night. Salaries reported in 1959 by employee
representatives varied widely by geographical location, ranging from
$1.20 per hour to $1.80 per hour.
Vacation and sick leave provisions were common, but very few
group benefit plans were reported.
In addition, some women worked part time as maids in hotels.
Hours schedules were usually arranged for 1 or 2 days per week on
a fairly regular basis throughout the year.
Other Service Workers. Some elevator operators worked part
time in department stores and office buildings. In addition, a few
positions for part-time elevator operators were mentioned by hotel
employers. The elevator operator’s job was one of the few available
to part-time workers in which previous experience was not usually
required. Operation of modern automatic elevators required only a
brief training period.
Part-time elevator operators generally found their work schedules
consisted of a few full days per week—either to meet peak needs or to
relieve regular operators on their days off. The increasing use of
self-service elevators is expected to have the greatest impact on em
ployment opportunities for elevator operators in office buildings and
hotels. Therefore, part-time jobs may be more readily available in
department stores, which also usually employ a larger proportion of
women.
A relatively small number of women work part time in protective
service occupations. Increasing demand for women to patrol school
crossings and to check parking meters may account for a large por
tion of these part-time workers.
Almost three-fourths of the women working as ushers in recrea
tion and amusement establishments were employed part time in
1950. Hours schedules frequently included evening and weekend
work.
Private Household Workers
Private household workers represented the largest single occupa
tion group of part-time workers. Out of 3 million female private
household workers, almost 2 million worked part time during 1958—
as domestic servants, baby sitters, home laundresses, housekeepers,
cooks, governesses, and at related tasks. About three-fourths of a
million were members of nonwhite races, with private household
work offering by far the largest number of part-time employment
opportunities for nonwhite women.
42
Hours arrangements and earnings of part-time private household
workers are so extremely varied that no typical figures are available
for this occupation.
Indications from the past few years are that the number of
women private household workers will continue to grow and that an
increasing proportion will be working part time.
Craftsmen, Operatives, and Laborers
Craftsmen. A very small number of women worked part time
as craftsmen during 1958. In addition, the number had decreased
somewhat since 1955.
Bindery Workers. One of the few craftsmen occupations with
part-time employment opportunities for women was that of book
binder. Members of the printing industry indicated that bindery
workers might find part-time work on a fairly regular basis for a few
full days in firms publishing periodicals and occasionally in job
printing shops. A representative of one large periodical reported
that approximately 15 percent of the women in the bindery and
subscription plate department of his firm were part-time workers.
The few remaining part-time female craftsmen may have been
working as bakers, decorators, pattern makers and tailor esses.
Operatives. Over 600,000 women worked part-time as opera
tives during 1958—about 16 percent of all women working as opera
tives. As previously indicated, many of these women were em
ployed in manufacturing, and were working part time because of
slack work or other economic reasons, rather than through choice.
Outside the manufacturing industry, some female operatives
worked part time as dressmakers and seamstresses, (either selfemployed or in retail trade), and as bus and taxi drivers, while a few
had other occupations, such as laundry and dry cleaning operatives.
Self-employed seamstresses could set their own hours schedules,
and were free to work part time when it suited them.
A few women worked part time as bus and taxi drivers, and as
streetcar conductors, and some were reported working part time as
school bus drivers in local public administration.
Most laundry and dry cleaning operatives work full time. In
dustry representatives indicated that probably no more than 10 per
cent of these workers were employed part time.
Laborers, Except Farm and Mine. Very few women worked
as nonfarm laborers, and only negligible numbers were reported
working part time. This category included such occupations as
gardeners, fishermen, longshoremen, teamsters, and so forth.
43
Farm Workers
Agricultural occupations—farmers and farm managers and farm
laborers and foremen-claimed about 1% million women who worked
part time.
However, about two-thirds of these women were unpaid family
members working as farm laborers. About one-half million women
were part-time farm laborers in paid employment, and another
70,000 were working part time as farmers and farm managers.
Nonwhite women accounted for one-fourth of all women working
part time as farm laborers, as compared with one-sixth of women
working part time in all occupations.
44
y
Part-Time Work
in the Future
The Impact of Population Changes
Recent labor force projections of the Labor Department’s Bureau
of Labor Statistics (based on Census data for 1948-56) indicate
changes that are expected to take place during 5-year periods be
tween 1955 and 1975 (table 11). Anticipated future levels of full
time and part-time work are based on trends in labor force partici
pation patterns, and on expected increases in population. Such
projections, therefore, furnish an indication of the number of women
who will want to work part time in the future, if the preferences of
women continue to change as they have in the past.
In the two decades between 1955 and 1975, the annual average
number of women working part time is expected to show an increase
of more than 75 percent, rising to 9 million by 1975.
The greatest percentage increase in the number of women working
part time is expected to be in the 14-to-24 age group. Although a
large number of women aged 25 and over will work part time in the
future, the proportionate gains in part-time work within their
various age groups will be somewhat less than for young women
under 25 years of age.
The majority of part-time workers in all age groups will work
more than 14 hours per week, but shorter workweeks (1 to 14
hours) will prevail for a larger proportion of the younger women
than for those in the 25-years-or-more age groups. Many of the
younger age groups are expected to be in school a large part of the
week, and this may account for their preference for the shorter
workweek schedules.
1955 to 1960
Over the 1955-75 span of years, the total number of women part
time workers is expected to show the largest percentage increase for
45
Table 11.—Number op Persons at Work1 by Full-Time and Part-Time
Status, and by Age and Sex, 1955, and Projections for 1960-75
(Annual averages, in millions)
Sex, age, and hours worked
1955
1960
1965
1970
60. 3
65. 3
71. 0
77. 6
84. 6
49. 9
10: 3
53. 2
12. 1
56. 9
14. 1
61. 7
15. 9
67. 1
17. 5
7. 8
2. 6
9. 0
3. 1
10. 3
3. 8
11. 6
4. 3
12. 7
4. 8
41. 4
43. 8
46. 7
50. 6
55. 1
36. 2
5. 2
37. 8
6. 0
39. 8
6. 9
42. 8
7. 8
46. 6
8. 5
4. 0
1. 2
4. 6
1. 4
5. 2
1. 7
5. 8
1. 9
6. 4
2. 1
18. 8
21. 5
24. 3
27. 0
29. 5
.
13. 7
5. 1
15. 4
6. 1
17. 1
7. 2
18. 9
8. 1
20. 5
9. 0
_____
____
3. 7
1. 4
4. 4
1. 7
5. 1
2. 1
5. 8
2. 4
6. 3
2. 7
____
4. 0
4. 3
5. 3
6. 3
6. 8
2. 8
1. 2
2. 9
1. 4
3. 4
1. 9
4. 0
2. 3
4. 3
2. 6
. 7
. 5
. 8
. 6
1. 1
. 8
1. 3
1. 0
1. 5
1. 1
3. 8
4. 0
4. 0
4. 5
5. 6
2. 9
. 9
3. 0
1. 0
3. 0
1. 0
3. 3
1. 2
4. 1
1. 5
. 7
. 2
. 8
. 2
. 8
. 2
. 9
. 3
1. 1
. 4
11. 0
13. 2
15. 0
16. 2
17. 1
8. 0
3. 0
9. 5
3. 7
10. 7
4. 3
11. 5
4. 7
12. 1
5. 0
2. 3
. 7
2. 8
. 9
3. 2
1. 0
3. 5
1. 2
3. 7
1. 3
1975
BOTH SEXES
Total at work
Full time
Part time
_____
_
___
15 to 35 hours
1 to 14 hours
.
.
MALE
14 years and over
__
__
Full time __
Part time___
15 to 34 hours
1 to 14 hours
FEMALE
14 years and over
Full time
Part time
_
._
_______
15 to 34 hours
1 to 14 hours
14 to 24 years__
_____
Full time_____
Part time____
.
15 to 34 hours
1 to 14 hours
25 to 35 years___
__
__ _
_
Full time _ __
Part time. _
15 to 34 hours_
1 to 14 hours____
35 years and over
_.
_
.
Full time
Part time
1 5 to 34 hours
1 to 14 hours _ _
.
-_
' Excludes members o( the Armed Forces, unemployed persons, and those with a job but not at work lor
reasons such as vacation or illness.
Source: 1955 data—U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census; 1960-75 projections—U.S.
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
46
the 5-year period between 1955 and 1960. For every five women
working part time in 1955, the 1960 average is expected to show one
more woman part-time worker. During this 5-year period, women
aged 35 or more will experience the greatest relative increase in
part-time work, although increases will occur also for women in age
groups under 35.
In contrast, the number of women working full time will expand
by only one-eighth between 1955 and 1960.
1960 to 1965
Almost as large a percentage increase in the total number of
women part-time workers will take place between 1960 and 1965
(18 percent) as during the preceding 5 years (20 percent). However,
young women under 25 will make the largest percentage gains in
part-time work during 1960 to 1965, whereas the largest relative
gains in the previous period were for women over 34.
At the same time, women full-time workers will also increase in
number, but their percentage gain—11 percent—will be decidedly less
than that of part-time workers.
1965 to 1970
Women part-time workers will continue to increase in numbers
between 1965 and 1970, but the relative gain will be considerably less
(at 13 percent) than in the two previous 5-year periods. This
reflects a declining rate of growth in the number of women part
time workers in the 35-and-over age group. Their number will
have leveled off considerably by 1970—from an estimated 20 percent
gain in the 1955-60 period, to an 8 percent rise in 1965-70. On the
other hand, increases in the number of part-time workers during the
1965-70 period will be at about the same rate for young women
under 25 and for those in the 25-to-34 age group. For the latter,
gains in the number at part-time work appear to be negligible until
the 1965-70 period, and even then their numbers will continue to be
much smaller when compared with women part-time workers in
other age groups.
The number of women full-time workers will show the same rela
tive growth—11 percent—as during the preceding 5 years.
1970 to 1975
Between 1970 and 1975, the rate of gain in the number of part-time
women workers again will fall off somewhat—from 13 percent during
47
WOMEN WORKING FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME
BY AGE GROUP
Annual Averages, 1955 and Projected 1960-75
THOUSANDS OF WORKERS
12
Full-time employment
1975
THOUSANDS OF WORKERS
6
Part-time employment
955
I960
14-24 Yeors
1
1965
1 25-34 Yeors
1970
1975
KXl35Years ond Over
SOURCE; 1955, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, AND
1960-75, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
48
1965-70, to 11 percent during 1970-75. By this time, percentage
increases in the number of women part-time workers will be largest
for those between the ages of 25 and 34, though this group of part
time workers will still be comparatively small. For other age groups,
increases in the number of part-time workers will amount to 13 per
cent for those under 25, and only 6 percent for women over 34.
During the same period, the number of women working full time
will show a smaller relative increase (8 percent) than in the previous
5-year periods.
Other Influences on Part-Time Work
As previously mentioned, the figures in table 11 actually indicate
changes in the supply of women part-time workers in the future
based on expected changes in population and rates of participation
in the labor force. However, other factors could have a significant
impact on the future of part-time employment. Such factors in
clude new legislative action or union-management agreements,
changes in school attendance patterns or in working-life patterns of
women, and changes in the availability of part-time jobs in various
occupations and industries.
Clearly, changes in existing laws could work to increase or de
crease part-time employment. For example, the recent raising of
the maximum earnings permissable to retain eligibility for social
security benefits might encourage more retired people to work part
time. Similarly, tax advantages to working mothers whose incomes
were under a certain level might encourage these women to work
part time instead of full time.
Changes in collective bargaining agreements might also serve to
stimulate or discourage part-time employment. Requirements that
part-time workers receive higher hourly wages than full-time workers
could discourage use of part-time help, while agreements which per
mitted lower wage rates for part-time workers might increase their
employment level.
The increased tendency toward lengthening of school attendance
has been a factor in increasing part-time employment of young
people in the past. These students have postponed entry into the
full-time labor force, but many have worked part time to supple
ment income. An acceleration in this trend could increase part-time
employment, while a decline would probably have the reverse effect.
In addition, expanded use of combined work-study programs would
increase the level of part-time employment.
49
Changes in the working life patterns of women could also have
far-reaching effects. For example, if relatively more women return
ing to the labor force after their children are grown should begin to
work full time rather than part time, the character of the part-time
labor force could be greatly altered.
Finally, the importance of the availability of part-time jobs can
not be overemphasized. Future growth of industries able to use
part-time workers, the existence of shortages of full-time personnel,
and the impact of automation on part-time jobs will all be im
portant in balancing the projected increased supply of part-time
workers with the demand for their services.
50
VI
Suggestions to Women
Seeking Part-Time Work
Financial Considerations
For most people, financial rewards are a major reason for seeking
employment, and women who seek part-time work are no exception.
Women work part time also to gain work experience, to keep work
skills intact, to help meet labor shortages in their fields, and to
develop interests outside the home.
Since the desire for money income is a primary factor in the deci
sion to seek a job, the would-be part-time worker must decide
whether a part-time job will meet her needs, or whether she should
instead seek a full-time job. She must also balance the increased
costs of working against the wage or salary she will receive. Such
expenses as transportation, meals away from home, and additional
clothing must be taken into account. When a woman hires outside
help to assist with housework or child care, then work-related
expenses are even greater.
Schedules
Time schedules are also an important factor to women who wish
to work part time. One woman may find that mid-day hours when
the children are in school are the best time for her to work. Another
may decide on an evening or weekend job, when other members of
the family are free to take care of the children. Whatever the
hours, it is usually necessary that they be on a regular basis, so that
the employer may be assured of having the worker on the job during
scheduled hours.
51
Occupations
The woman considering part-time work must also decide which
particular type of job to seek. It will be helpful to her to assess her
abilities and experience in terms of the qualifications required in the
various occupations and industries which offer part-time employ
ment. In those which have relatively few part-time workers, the
job-seeker may have to convince employers not only of her abilities
but also of the feasibility of a part-time schedule. In addition, she
may have to compromise on the particular hours to be worked and
arrangements to suit the employer’s needs.
Recruitment Methods
Having decided upon the type of job she will seek, the woman
worker should keep in mind the usual recruiting methods in her
chosen field.
In general, employers in the service and trade industries reported
that they used a wide variety of recruiting methods, including public
and private employment agencies, newspaper advertisements, and
word-of-mouth. Restaurants in one city set up their own coopera
tive employment agency to fill jobs for waitresses, cashiers, hostesses
and kitchen help. Hotels in another city cooperated with the unions
in a joint union-management agency to fill most of their jobs.
Department and specialty stores frequently used newspaper ad
vertising to recruit part-time salespersons, although many job open
ings in this field were filled by direct application of job seekers to
the stores. Food stores also utilized newspaper advertising as well
as the public employment services to find part-time grocery checkers
and other workers. Some large chain stores with several outlets in
a city have a central hiring office to service all stores in the area.
Food store representatives indicated that a store’s own customers
were often a source of new workers. Signs listing job openings were
posted in the store and interested persons applied to the manager.
In contrast to these methods, much of the hiring of charwomen
and cleaners in building service trades, especially in large cities, is
through the unions as well as by direct application to the employer.
In highly organized centers the unions also use advertising to
attract additional workers when necessary.
Personal friendships among private household workers and among
their employers play an important role in locating workers for jobs,
52
in addition to the use of public and private employment agencies and
advertisements.
Among professional workers the use of placement services in their
professional associations is quite common, in addition to the other
general methods of recruitment or jobseeking. In occupations of
pronounced personnel shortages, such as nursing and social work,
employers use a variety of ways to seek out workers. Personal con
tacts and direct application to the particular institutions or agencies
are useful in these fields.
Women seeking part-time work as school teachers and those in
terested in substitute teaching should apply directly to local Boards
of Education. School systems maintain a register of persons
available for substitute work.
Clerical positions were often found also through employment
agencies, advertisements, and personal contacts. Some clerical
workers find fairly regular part-time work by accepting a job with
an agency which places them in different firms requesting temporary
help. These agencies place the workers on their own payrolls, and
perform the task of jobseeking for them. In addition, graduates of
business schools sometimes obtain jobs through the placement
services offered by their schools.
In general, public and private employment agencies, newspaper
and other advertising, and personal contact are the most common
avenues to part-time jobs as well as full-time jobs in many industries
and occupations. Professional associations, unions, and schools are
also utilized in varying degrees depending upon the particular
occupation, the training involved, or the extent of unionization.
Women interested in part-time work in the jobs in which part
time schedules are usual should have little difficulty in finding such
opportunities. Those who are interested in other types of work will
need to use their ingenuity in exploring all possible avenues and
means of locating such job opportunities.
This bulletin has attempted to furnish the essential background
information and some leads for such exploration.
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1960 OF—539126
53
@FedFRASER