Part-time employment reflects slow economic recovery

At the beginning of the recession in 2008, part-time workers made up 16.9 percent of the working population. That number rose to 19.7 percent in 2010 and dropped slightly to 18 percent in 2013, according to Fortune.

According to a report by job search engine website Indeed, part-time job postings have grown at an average of about 3 percent per month since January 2012, while full-time postings have grown at at average of 1.5 percent.

Researchers Bob Valletta and Leila Bengali with the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco suggest these numbers reflect slow economic recovery rather than a permanent change in the workforce. They also suggest that 1 to 2 percent of total part-time jobs in the market are due to employers attempting to keep costs down in lieu of changes that will go into effect in 2015 as part of the Affordable Care Act.

Read more at Fortune.