Interest in part-time work appears to be growing.
In July, the number of people working part-time for noneconomic reasons hit its highest level since the start of the pandemic.
The number counts people who work part-time due to other commitments, like child care or health limitations.
The U.S. also recorded a two-year high in the number of people working multiple jobs.
"People who have full-time jobs are looking for additional part-time work," said Scott Blumsack, chief strategy officer at Monster. "We've certainly seen that in the gig space, with companies like Uber talking about record levels of new drivers on their platform."
This lines up with historical trends.
When more jobs are available, historians say, more people are willing to work multiple jobs.
Monster is one of several companies noting the rising interest in part-time work.
Blumsack said "part-time" was the second-most popular search term on the website in July.
"There's a couple things," Blumsack said. "Certainly, with the inflation situation, people are looking for more dollars to be able to stay whole relative to what's going on with inflation. The other piece is an increase of those who are taking part-time jobs because business conditions forced them to work reduce hours or things of that nature."
In the short term, there will be many opportunities for people seeking part-time work.
Spirit Halloween announced in late July that it is looking to fill 35,000 positions this fall.
And the major shipping companies, including FedEx, UPS, USPS and Amazon, are likely to hire more than a quarter million workers for the holiday season.
