The Czech Republic has been struggling with a few part-time jobs, which has significant implications for the country’s workforce. The government plans to extend the retirement age and allow for earlier returns to work for women after parental leave. This plan relies on an increase in the number of part-time positions intended to help older workers and mothers of young children balance work with family and rest.
However, data reveals that part-time jobs are scarce. By the end of last year, approximately 383,000 out of the 5.2 million working citizens held part-time positions. According to data from the Ministry of Labor processed by the Czech Statistical Office, most part-time workers are between 30 and 44. Last year, over 122,000 people in this age group held part-time jobs, over 107,000 of whom were women, and approximately 15,000 were men. This age range corresponds roughly to when parents are raising children dealing with their attendance at kindergarten and school.
To support the increase in part-time jobs, the state began offering a discount on social contributions in February. According to Minister of Labor Marian Jurečka, approximately 24,000 employers offered part-time positions by the end of June. After the amendment was introduced, 8,000 new part-time jobs were created, primarily for mothers of children up to 10 years old or women of pre-retirement age who care for their parents or their partner’s parents.
Despite these efforts, the Czech Republic lags behind other European countries regarding part-time employment. Last year’s data from the Association for Social Responsibility showed that the percentage of women with part-time jobs in the Czech Republic was 9.9%, compared to over 48% in Germany and Austria and an astonishing 74% in the Netherlands. The EU average is around 29%.
However, part-time work has its share of drawbacks, notably its impact on pension benefits. Compared to full-time, lower earnings from part-time work result in a lower pension, as the percentage rate is based on the number of years worked and lifetime earnings. This, in addition to generally lower income, is one of the reasons why part-time jobs are less common in the Czech Republic than in other member states.