A method and system is disclosed for selecting a work queue associated with a processor within a multiple processor architecture to assign a new task. A local and a remote queue availability flag is maintained to indicate a relative size of work queues, in relationship to a mean queue size, for each processor in a multiple processor architecture. In determining to which processor to assign a task, the processor evaluates its own queue size by examining its local queue availability flag and evaluates other processor's queue sizes by examining their remote queue availability flags. The local queue availability flags are maintained asynchronously from task assignment. Remote flags are maintained at time of task assignment. The presented algorithm provides improved local processor queue size determinations in systems where task distribution processes execute with lower priorities that other tasks.