Introduction

Some facts and figures

From the end of the 1970s onwards the number of people in part-time work expanded rapidly in France, rising from 6 per cent of the working population to 17.2 per cent by January 1999 and placing the country in an average position among the EC Member States as regards its use. This increase was not continuous: an initial surge in the number of part-time workers from the start of the 1980s until 1986, when the first general regulation of part-time work was established, was followed by a period of stabilisation between 1987 and 1991 and then a phase of renewed growth starting in 1992 in parallel with the introduction of specific measures to encourage part-time work. Since 1999, marking a departure from that rising trend, there has been a slight decrease in the proportion of part-time workers, who represented 16.9 per cent of the working population in March 2000, 16.4 per cent in March 2001 and 16.2 per cent in March 2002.

The tertiary sector (more specifically education, health, social services, personal services and commerce) is still the main source of part-time jobs, with more than 87 per cent of all part-time workers concentrated within this sector. However, industry – and particularly the agri-foodstuffs industry – although lagging far behind, has witnessed a certain increase in the volume of part-time workers.