European Union (27 countries) vs United States of America: Full-time and part-time employment based on national definition
Full-time and part-time employment based on national definition over time
- European Union (27 countries)
- United States of America
How they compare
European Union (27 countries) currently reports 166,976 Persons against 134,927 Persons in United States of America, a difference of 32,049 Persons.
That makes European Union (27 countries)'s figure about 1.2 times United States of America's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 43 shared years of data; in 1983 it was United States of America ahead.
European Union (27 countries) ranks 1st and United States of America ranks 2nd of 11 regions.
Across the 5 decades both report, European Union (27 countries) averaged higher in 4 and United States of America in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | European Union (27 countries) | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 87,493 Persons | 90,496 Persons | 3,003 Persons | United States of America |
| 1990s | 122,009 Persons | 102,245 Persons | 19,764 Persons | European Union (27 countries) |
| 2000s | 153,280 Persons | 115,842 Persons | 37,438 Persons | European Union (27 countries) |
| 2010s | 154,309 Persons | 120,450 Persons | 33,859 Persons | European Union (27 countries) |
| 2020s | 163,218 Persons | 130,823 Persons | 32,396 Persons | European Union (27 countries) |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher full-time and part-time employment based on national definition, European Union (27 countries) or United States of America?
- European Union (27 countries), at 166,976 Persons against 134,927 Persons in United States of America as of 2025.
- What is the difference in full-time and part-time employment based on national definition between European Union (27 countries) and United States of America?
- 32,049 Persons, with European Union (27 countries) ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for European Union (27 countries) and United States of America?
- 43 years are reported by both, from 1983 to 2025.
- How do European Union (27 countries) and United States of America rank globally for full-time and part-time employment based on national definition?
- European Union (27 countries) ranks 1st and United States of America ranks 2nd of 11 regions.
- Where does this data come from?
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Full-time and part-time employment based on national definition. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
This dataset contains data on full-time and part-time employment based on national definition. Data are broken down by professional status - employees, total employment - sex and standardised age groups (15-24, 25-54, 55+, total). National definitions of part-time work vary considerably across OECD countries. Essentially three main approaches can be distinguished: i) a classification based on the worker’s perception of his/her employment situation; ii) a cut-off (generally 30 or 35 hours per week) based on usual working hours, with persons usually working fewer hours being considered part-timers; iii) a comparable cut-off based on actual hours worked during the reference week. A criterion based on actual hours will generally yield a part-time rate higher than one based on usual hours, particularly if there are temporary reductions in working time as a result of holidays, illness, short-timing, etc. On the other hand, it is not entirely clear whether a classification based on the worker’s perception will necessarily yield estimates of part-time work that are higher or lower than one based on a fixed cut-off. In one country (France) which changed from 1981 to 1982 from a definition based on an actual hours cut-off (30 hours) to one based on the respondent’s perception, the latter criterion appeared to produce slightly higher estimates. Other factors as well affect the international comparability of the estimates. In some countries, the hours’ cut-off is based on hours for the main job, in others on total hours for all jobs. Certain countries do not consider unpaid family workers to be employed unless they work more than a minimum number of hours, so that such workers do not enter into counts for part-time workers. In order to facilitate analysis and comparisons over time, historical data for OECD members have been provided over as long a period as possible, often even before a country became a member of the Organisation. Information on the membership dates of all OECD countries can be found at OECD Ratification Dates. For detailed information on labour force surveys for all countries please see LFS_NOTES_SOURCES.