In the past few years, union activists and some policymakers have increasingly portrayed part-time work as problematic for a worker. According to statistics compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the part-time "problem" is more rhetoric than reality. Only 17% of U.S. workers are classified as part-time. Of those 17%, 15% are voluntary part-time workers and only 1.8% (2.1 million workers) are involuntary part-time workers. Part-time employment has not increased significantly in the past 25 years. Most part-time workers are not responsible for supporting a family because they are members of families with two or more workers. The median annual family income of part-time workers is $44,506. The racial and ethnic breakdown of the part-time work force closely resembles that of the full-time labor force. Part-time jobs are held mostly by teenagers and females. According to new research, the skills required to perform the duties of part-time jobs are often lower than those required for full-time jobs. After skills differences and other personal differences are accounted for, the wage gap between part-time and full-time workers is nearly nonexistent. Recent Census Bureau data show that 70.5% of part-time workers are covered by health insurance, either through work or through coverage provided by other earners of the household. (MN)