Among the 44.1 million persons in the European Union (EU) working part-time in 2014, 9.8 million were underemployed meaning they wished to work more hours and were available to do so. This corresponds to 22.2% of all part-time workers and 4.5% of total employment in the EU in 2014. The large majority of part-time workers being underemployed in the EU were women (67%) Alongside the economically active population2 , 11.6 million economically inactive persons aged 15-74 in the EU had in 2014 a certain attachment to the labour market and could be considered as a potential additional labour force, equivalent to 4.8% of the EU labour force. Among them, 9.5 million were available to work but not seeking3 , such as discouraged job seekers, and 2.2 million seeking work but not immediately available4 , for example students seeking a job to start after graduation. The majority of this almost 12 million total potential additional labour force in the EU in 2014 were also women (57%).
Labour Force Survey 2014, Eurostat News Realease 75/2015-27 April 2015