Part-time jobs on the rise in Louisiana

For the better part of a decade, Mary Vincent had worked as the office manager for a small, Capital Region contracting firm. Two years ago, with work slacking off and no relief in sight, the company decided it could no longer afford her services. The 36-year-old mother of two is now working part-time in a women’s clothing store. She’d prefer to work full-time, but hasn’t yet found anything suitable close to home. “I keep looking,” she says. “I haven’t given up hope.” Full-time jobs are still the norm in south Louisiana. But thanks to slow recovery from the recession and widespread uncertainty about the cost of doing business, a growing number of employers are trading them in for part-time workers. The number of underutilized workers in Louisiana—those who are unemployed or working part-time for reasons beyond their control—has grown more than six percentage points in five years, to 13.4%. In the past year alone, part-time employment in the state has risen about 1%. Overall, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates 82,000 Louisiana workers are involuntarily working part-time because of slack business conditions or because they are unable to find a full-time job. Read the full story from the current issue of Business Report by Penny Font here.