128,000 ‘underemployed’ workers want more hours

Almost a quarter of the workforce is made up of part-time employees, many of whom feel they are under-employed and would be willing to work more every week.

Some 23.4% of workers are employed part-time as opposed to a fifth as an EU-wide average. Almost three in 10 part-time employees would like to work more each week but are unable to do so for a variety of reasons.

More than 54% of the country’s part-time staff are women who, as workers willing to take on extra hours and available to do so, identify themselves as underemployed.