A study by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) shows that the part-time employment rate in Germany reached 39.8% in the second quarter of 2024, up 0.5 percentage points from the previous year. While challenges in childcare and elderly care are often cited as reasons for reduced working hours, the study reveals that only one in five employees actually reduce their hours for these reasons. Instead, the most common reason given by employees is the flexibility of part-time work.