Underemployed workers

Latest release

Part-time employed people who want to work more hours, including preferred hours.

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Reference period
February 2026
Release date and time
31/07/2026 11:30am AEST

Key statistics

In February 2026:

  • 822,800 part-time workers preferred and were available to work more hours, with almost half preferring to work full-time (48%)
  • 43% of part-time workers who preferred more hours took active steps to look for more hours

This Underemployed workers release uses data sourced from the annual Participation, Job Search and Mobility (PJSM) survey. In previous years, data sourced from the monthly Labour Force Survey was also included. With the recent release of the new ‘u-series’, which provides a more frequent and robust set of underutilisation measures including on underemployment, this Underemployed workers release has reverted back to only including data from the PJSM survey on part-time workers who prefer more hours.

More information from the PJSM survey is published in:

Microdata from the PJSM survey for 2015 to 2026 will be released in TableBuilder and DataLab (as a supplementary file to the Longitudinal Labour Force) on 6 August 2026. For more information, refer to Microdata and TableBuilder: Participation, Job Search and Mobility.

Upcoming changes to the Participation, Job Search and Mobility survey

As part of the ABS Labour Force Survey modernisation program (see Modernising the Labour Force Survey), changes have been made to labour supplementary surveys, including Participation, Job Search and Mobility. These changes affect collection timing, reference periods and published outputs. As a result, this was the last Participation, Job Search and Mobility survey conducted in its current form.

Content previously collected through this survey will be incorporated into the new Labour Supplementary Survey, with data compiled and published annually on a calendar-year basis. The first estimates for 2026, based on data collected from August to December 2026, are expected to be released in April 2027. A similar range of data will continue to be available through the new survey outputs.

Part-time workers

In February 2026, there were 822,800 part-time workers who who preferred and were available to work more hours (18% of all part-time workers). This was a increase of 3,900 from 818,900 part-time workers in February last year (which was 19% of all part-time workers). 

  • The number of male part-time workers decreased by 2,100 to 329,100 in February 2026.
  • The number of female part-time workers increased by 6,000 to 493,700 in February 2026

In February 2026, 42% of part-time workers who preferred more hours preferred an extra 10 hours or less (median extra hours preferred). Men aged 65 years and over preferred the most extra hours (15 hours per week).

Looking for more hours

In February 2026, of the 822,800 part-time workers who preferred more hours, 43% took active steps to look for additional hours. The top three active steps taken to look for more hours were:

  • Looked at job advertisements on the Internet, in a newspaper, etc. (29%)
  • Wrote, phoned or applied in person to an employer (21%)
  • Responded to a job advertisement (18%).

If a suitable job had been offered, 8% were prepared to move interstate, and 13% were prepared to move within their state or territory.

Just under half of part-time workers who prefer more hours (50%) preferred not to change occupations in order to work more hours.

Extra hours preferred

In February 2026, just under half of the part-time workers who preferred more hours preferred to work full-time hours (48% or 392,400 all part-time workers who preferred more hours). The other half preferred to work more hours but remain working part-time (52%, or 430,300 part-time workers who preferred more hours).

  • Men aged 25-44 years were most likely to prefer to work full-time (79%).
  • Women aged 65 years and over were least likely to prefer to work full-time (19%).

 

Duration of insufficient hours

In February 2026, 197,400 part-time workers who preferred more hours spent a year or more working in a job with insufficient hours (24% of all part-time workers who preferred more hours).  

More than half (58%) of all part-time workers who prefer more hours worked with insufficient hours for 26 weeks or less (median duration of insufficient hours).

Data downloads

Part-time employed who prefer more hours

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Data files

Previous catalogue number

This release uses ABS catalogue number 6229.0.

Methodology

Participation, Job Search and Mobility, Australia methodology, February 2026

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