How many hours is considered part time?
Part time is any schedule below your employer’s full-time cutoff. There is no federal number. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not define full-time or part-time work, and the Department of Labor says the matter is generally up to the employer.
Two federal benchmarks still shape how part time is counted:
- Under 30 hours a week on average is part time for employer health coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), because the IRS defines full time as at least 30 hours a week or 130 hours a month.
- Under 35 hours a week is part time in Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, which counts people who usually work fewer than 35 hours as part-time workers.
So a 32-hour schedule can be full time for health insurance, part time in government statistics, and either one in your employee handbook.
Part-time definitions compared
| Rule or source | Part time means | What it affects |
|---|---|---|
| Fair Labor Standards Act (DOL) | No definition; employer decides | Nothing: wage and overtime rules apply the same way |
| ACA employer mandate (IRS) | Under 30 hours a week on average, or under 130 hours of service in a month | Whether a large employer must offer you health coverage |
| BLS Current Population Survey | Usually under 35 hours a week | How jobs reports count part-time workers |
| Federal part-time career jobs (5 U.S.C. 3401) | 16 to 32 hours a week | Permanent part-time federal positions |
| Your employer’s policy | Below its full-time cutoff | PTO, paid holidays, retirement match, scheduling |
For the full-time side of the same rules, see our guide on how many hours is full time.
How many hours a month is part time?
For ACA health coverage, part time means fewer than 130 hours of service in a month. A 20-hour week averages about 86.7 hours a month (20 x 52 / 12), and a 25-hour week about 108.3.
Part-time hours still count toward your employer’s size. To decide whether a business has the 50 full-time employees that make it an applicable large employer, the IRS has it add up the monthly hours of all non-full-time employees, counting no more than 120 hours for any one person, and divide the total by 120. Ten part-timers working 90 hours each in a month add up to 900 hours, or 7.5 full-time equivalents.
What does part time for economic reasons mean?
You will see this phrase in monthly jobs reports. BLS uses it for people who worked 1 to 34 hours in a week and gave an economic reason when asked why, and it also calls this group involuntary part-time workers. The separate noneconomic category includes only people who usually work part time.
Common part-time schedules and yearly hours
These are typical ways part-time hours get scheduled. Yearly totals assume 52 weeks with no unpaid time off.
| Schedule | Hours per week | Hours per year | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two 8-hour weekend shifts | 16 | 832 | Fits around school or a weekday job |
| 4 hours a day, Monday to Friday | 20 | 1,040 | Half of a 40-hour week |
| Three 4-hour evenings plus an 8-hour Saturday | 20 | 1,040 | Fits evening and weekend availability |
| Three 8-hour days | 24 | 1,248 | Just 2 hours short of the FMLA’s 1,250-hour test over a year |
| 5 hours a day, Monday to Friday | 25 | 1,300 | Enough hours for the FMLA test if you work all year |
| Three 10-hour days | 30 | 1,560 | Counts as full time for ACA health coverage |
| Four 8-hour days | 32 | 1,664 | Full time under the ACA, part time in BLS data |
Your real total depends on the calendar and your time off. Our guide to how many work hours are in a year shows the 2026 and 2027 counts.
Do part-time employees get overtime?
Yes, on the same terms as everyone else. The DOL says full-time or part-time status does not change how the FLSA applies. Covered, nonexempt employees must receive at least time and one-half their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek.
What federal law does not do:
- It does not pay overtime by the day. Federal overtime is based on hours over 40 in the workweek.
- It does not require extra pay for weekends or holidays, as such.
- It does not cap how many hours a worker 16 or older can be scheduled.
Example: Sam Rivera works part time at Northwind Logistics for $16 an hour, usually 24 hours a week. During the holiday rush Sam works 44 hours in one workweek. Pay is 40 x $16 ($640) plus 4 x $24 ($96), for $736.
Run your own numbers with the overtime calculator. The federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour also applies to part-time work, and state or local laws can give you more protection than the FLSA.
What benefits do part-time workers get?
Federal wage law does not require employers to give any worker paid vacation, holiday pay, sick pay or fringe benefits. A few federal rules do reach part-timers, though, and they are based on hours, not job titles.
Health insurance. Large employers (50 or more full-time employees, including equivalents) must offer coverage to at least 95 percent of full-time employees to avoid a possible IRS payment, but the IRS says they need not offer it to part-time employees. The gap shows in the data: in March 2026, 23 percent of part-time workers had access to employer medical care benefits, compared with 89 percent of full-time civilian workers, according to BLS.
If you are offered a job-based plan that counts as affordable and meets minimum standards, HealthCare.gov says you will not qualify for savings on a Marketplace plan. If your employer offers no plan, the Marketplace is the place to compare individual coverage.
Retirement plans. IRS Publication 560 explains the long-term part-time rule for 401(k) plans. For plan years beginning after 2024, a plan generally cannot keep you from making your own contributions once you have worked at least 500 hours in each of 2 consecutive 12-month periods. Five hundred hours is about 10 hours a week.
Family and medical leave. The FMLA does not care whether you are labeled part time. You are eligible after 12 months with a covered employer and at least 1,250 hours of service in the 12 months before leave, at a worksite with at least 50 employees within 75 miles. That is about 24 hours a week on average.
Paid time off and holidays. The FLSA does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations or holidays. Whether part-timers get prorated PTO is up to the employer, a union contract, or state and local law.
Because plans and state laws differ, ask HR for the plan rules in writing. A benefits attorney or your state labor department can help if your situation is unusual.
How many hours can a teenager work part time?
Federal child labor rules set firm hour limits for 14- and 15-year-olds in nonfarm jobs:
| Rule for ages 14 and 15 | Federal limit |
|---|---|
| School day, including Fridays | 3 hours |
| School week | 18 hours |
| Non-school day | 8 hours |
| Non-school week | 40 hours |
| Time of day | 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., extended to 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day |
All work must be outside school hours. At 16 and 17, federal law sets no limit on hours, though teens cannot work in occupations the Secretary of Labor has declared hazardous. Many states add their own limits, and when state and federal rules both apply, the stricter one wins. For ideas on where to start, see our list of jobs for 16-year-olds.
How much do part-time jobs pay?
Part-time pay is your hourly rate times your hours. Here is what common combinations add up to before taxes, assuming 52 weeks of work:
| Hourly rate | Hours per week | Weekly pay | Yearly pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| $15 | 20 | $300 | $15,600 |
| $16 | 16 | $256 | $13,312 |
| $17 | 24 | $408 | $21,216 |
| $18 | 25 | $450 | $23,400 |
| $20 | 30 | $600 | $31,200 |
To compare a part-time offer with a full-time one, start from the full-time figure and scale it. A $15 an hour job pays $31,200 a year at 40 hours a week, so 20 hours is half of that. The $15 an hour salary page shows the full-time breakdown and take-home pay by state.
If your timesheet shows minutes instead of decimals, the time to decimal calculator converts entries like 4 hours 45 minutes into 4.75 hours.
How do you ask for a part-time schedule?
Be specific about the hours you want and the days you can work. Employers can plan around a clear request more easily than an open one.
“I’m interested in this role on a part-time basis. I’m available Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., about 18 hours a week. Could you tell me which benefits are available at that schedule?”
If you are already employed and want to cut back, ask HR how fewer hours would affect your health plan, PTO accrual and retirement eligibility before you sign anything.