October 03, 2007 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Flexible work and part-time jobs

One way to have a flexible work schedule is to have a part-time job.

[Chart data—TXT]

As defined by BLS, working part time is working between 1 and 34 hours per week. BLS data show that in 2006, most people who usually worked part time did so for personal reasons, such as childcare, school, or retirement from a full-time job. Schedules of these part-timers varied, but they worked about 21 hours per week on average.

Some high-paying jobs can be part-time jobs. The chart shows occupations in which part-time work was common and in which workers had median wages of more than $30 an hour in May 2006.

The chart data are for both full- and part-time workers; hourly wages of part-timers can be higher or lower than those of their full-time counterparts.

Information in this article is from the Current Population Survey program and the Occupational Employment Statistics program. For more information, see "Flexible work: Adjusting the when and where of your job," by Elka Maria Torpey, Occupational Outlook Quarterly, Summer 2007.