|
Average
Workweek in the United States
Average weekly hours of
production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls,
1947 - 2005
(payroll series) - below
|
year |
ave. weekly hours
|
year
|
ave. weekly hours
|
year
|
ave. weekly hours
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1947 |
40.3
|
1967 |
38.0
|
1987 |
34.8
|
|
1948 |
40.0
|
1968 |
37.8
|
1988 |
|
|
1949 |
39.4
|
1969 |
37.7
|
1989 |
|
|
1950 |
39.8
|
1970 |
37.1
|
1990 |
34.3
|
|
1951 |
39.9
|
1971 |
36.9
|
1991 |
34.1
|
|
1952 |
39.9
|
1972 |
37.0
|
1992 |
34.2
|
|
1953 |
39.6
|
1973 |
36.9
|
1993 |
34.3
|
|
1954 |
39.1
|
1974 |
36.5
|
1994 |
34.5
|
|
1955 |
39.6
|
1975 |
36.1
|
1995 |
34.3
|
|
1956 |
39.3
|
1976 |
36.1
|
1996 |
34.3
|
|
1957 |
38.8
|
1977 |
36.0
|
1997 |
34.5
|
|
1958 |
38.5
|
1978 |
35.8
|
1998 |
34.5
|
|
1959 |
39.0
|
1979 |
35.7
|
1999 |
34.3
|
|
1960 |
38.6
|
1980 |
35.3
|
2000 |
34.3
|
|
1961 |
38.6
|
1981 |
35.2
|
2001 |
34.0
|
|
1962 |
38.7
|
1982 |
34.8
|
2002 |
33.9
|
|
1963 |
38.8
|
1983 |
35.0
|
2003 |
33.7
|
|
1964 |
38.7
|
1984 |
35.2
|
2004 |
33.7
|
|
1965 |
38.8
|
1985 |
34.9
|
2005 |
33.8
|
|
1966 |
38.6
|
1986 |
34.8
|
2006 |
33.9
|
Mean hours worked per week by all persons
at work, 1947 - 1987 (household series) - below
|
year
|
ave. weekly hours
|
year
|
ave. weekly hours
|
year
|
ave. weekly hours
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1947 |
43.5
|
1965
|
40.5
|
1983
|
38.3
|
|
1948 |
42.8
|
1966
|
40.4
|
1984
|
38.8
|
|
1949 |
42.1
|
1967
|
40.4
|
1985
|
39.0
|
|
1950 |
41.7
|
1968
|
40.1
|
1986
|
39.1
|
|
1951 |
42.2
|
1969
|
39.9
|
1987
|
39.0
|
|
1952 |
42.4
|
1970
|
39.1
|
1988
|
39.2
|
|
1953 |
41.9
|
1971
|
39.3
|
|
|
|
1954 |
40.9
|
1972
|
39.4
|
|
|
|
1955 |
41.6
|
1973
|
39.3
|
|
|
|
1956 |
41.5
|
1974
|
39.0
|
|
|
|
1957 |
41.0
|
1975
|
38.7
|
|
|
|
1958 |
40.6
|
1976
|
38.7
|
|
|
|
1959 |
40.5
|
1977
|
38.8
|
|
|
|
1960
|
40.5
|
1978
|
39.0
|
2006
|
39.2
|
|
1961
|
40.5
|
1979
|
38.9
|
2007
|
39.2
|
|
1962
|
40.5
|
1980
|
38.5
|
2008
|
38.9
|
|
1963
|
40.4
|
1981
|
38.1
|
2009
|
37.9
|
|
1964
|
40.0
|
1982
|
38.0
|
2010
|
38.1
|
Notes: The "payroll series" consists of
hours information collected from employers. The "household
series"
consists of hours information collected from individual workers in
Census surveys. Where a worker holds more than one job, the payroll
series
would report hours from each job separately. The household series would
combine the hours from all jobs.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, compiles
and reports the information. The workweek decline in the payroll series
reflects the increasing proportion of part-time retail workers in the
total. It has been calculated that 1.39 of the hours decline between
1964 and 1987 is due to this factor. (Nonfinancial Economics, p. 39) According
to the household series, the average workweek of persons who usually
worked full time was 42.8 hours
in 2007; 42.6 hours in 2008; and 41.9 hours in 2009. |
|
Estimated
Gains in Paid Leisure by Full-time Workers in the United States, 1940
to 1979
|
Additional Hours of Paid Leisure per Year
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Source
|
Period
|
Shorter
|
Longer
|
More
|
Total
|
|
|
|
Workweek
|
Vacations
|
Holidays
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hedges & Taylor
|
1968 - 1979
|
25
|
4
|
10
|
39
|
|
Moore & Hedges
|
1960 - 1969
|
30
|
15
|
4
|
49
|
|
Henle
|
1940 - 1960
|
75
|
48
|
32
|
155
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
total
|
1940 - 1979
|
130
|
67
|
46
|
243
|
Notes: These estimates of hours reductions,
prepared by economists at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, appeared
in the March 1962, February 1971, and March 1980 issues of Monthly
Labor Review. Notice that gains in paid leisure were greater in the
early period than since 1960. In 1994, a survey found that 97.0% of
large companies offered paid vacations to employees, 91.0% offered
paid holidays, and 56.5% offered employee pensions. The same survey
found that 86.0% of small companies offered paid vacations, 80.0%
offered paid holidays, and only 9.0% had pension plans.
|
|
Estimated
Reductions in the Workweek in Earlier Periods of U.S. History
Ewan
Clague, National Bureau of Economic Research
|
year
|
estimated workweek
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Ewan Clague
|
N.B.E.R.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1850
|
69.8
|
|
|
1860
|
68.0
|
|
|
1870
|
65.4
|
|
|
1880
|
64.0
|
|
|
1890
|
61.9
|
53.7
|
|
1900
|
60.2
|
53.2
|
|
1910
|
55.1
|
52.1
|
|
1920
|
49.7
|
49.8
|
|
1930
|
45.9
|
47.7
|
|
1940
|
44.0
|
43.9
|
|
1950
|
42.5
|
41.2
|
|
1960
|
40.8
|
|
Paul
H. Douglas, 1890 to 1926
|
year
|
average workweek
|
real hourly wages
|
year
|
average workweek
|
real hourly wages
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1890
|
58.4
|
|
1910
|
54.6
|
$.222
|
|
1891
|
58.2
|
|
1911
|
54.4
|
$.219
|
|
1892
|
58.2
|
|
1912
|
54.2
|
$.226
|
|
1893
|
58.2
|
|
1913
|
53.8
|
$.226
|
|
1894
|
57.8
|
|
1914
|
53.5
|
$.226
|
|
1895
|
58.1
|
|
1915
|
53.5
|
$.232
|
|
1896
|
57.9
|
|
1916
|
53.3
|
$.232
|
|
1897
|
57.7
|
|
1917
|
53.0
|
$.219
|
|
1898
|
57.6
|
|
1918
|
52.2
|
$.222
|
|
1899
|
57.5
|
|
1919
|
51.3
|
$.228
|
|
1900
|
57.3
|
$.211
|
1920
|
50.4
|
$.236
|
|
1901
|
56.8
|
$.213
|
1921
|
50.3
|
$.255
|
|
1902
|
56.3
|
$.215
|
1922
|
50.5
|
$.266
|
|
1903
|
55.9
|
$.215
|
1923
|
50.4
|
$.283
|
|
1904
|
55.7
|
$.219
|
1924
|
50.0
|
$.291
|
|
1905
|
55.7
|
$.224
|
1925
|
49.9
|
$.291
|
|
1906
|
55.3
|
$.226
|
1926
|
49.8
|
$.295
|
|
1907
|
55.3
|
$.222
|
|
|
|
|
1908
|
54.9
|
$.228
|
|
|
|
|
1909
|
54.6
|
$.230
|
|
|
|
Notes: Ewan Clague, Commissioner of the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, presented testimony before the House Select Subcommittee
on Labor on H.R. 355, H.R. 3102, and H.R. 3320. Monthly Labor Review,
February 1971, p. 5. Comparison of trends in average workweek and hourly
wages from Paul H. Douglas, "Real Wages in the United States, 1890-1926",
Houghton Mifflin, 1930.
|
|
Average
Hours Spent per Day in Various Activities, 2005
|
hours per day, total population
|
hours per day, persons reporting the activity
in time diary |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| activity |
both sexes
|
men
|
women
|
both sexes
|
men
|
women
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| all activities |
24.00
|
24.00
|
24.00
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| sleeping |
8.63
|
8.54
|
8.70
|
8.63
|
8.55
|
8.71
|
| other personal care |
0.80
|
0.68
|
0.92
|
0.80
|
0.67
|
0.91
|
| eating & drinking |
1.24
|
1.30
|
1.19
|
1.28
|
1.33
|
1.23
|
| household chores |
1.82
|
1.35
|
2.27
|
2.45
|
2.09
|
2.70
|
| shopping |
0.80
|
0.63
|
0.96
|
1.74
|
1.57
|
1.87
|
| caring for others |
0.77
|
0.55
|
0.97
|
3.74
|
3.41
|
3.94
|
| paid work |
3.69
|
4.44
|
3.00
|
8.01
|
8.45
|
7.47
|
| school activities |
0.45
|
0.47
|
0.43
|
5.22
|
5.62
|
4.87
|
| community activities |
0.31
|
0.27
|
0.35
|
2.31
|
2.30
|
2.33
|
| watching television |
2.58
|
2.80
|
2.37
|
3.23
|
3.47
|
3.00
|
| other leisure |
1.04
|
1.10
|
0.98
|
3.53
|
3.87
|
3.12
|
| other |
0.35
|
0.28
|
0.41
|
2.10
|
2.08
|
2.11
|
Notes: From Table 12-1, Handbook of U.S. Labor Statistics
(Bernan Press), 2007, p. 446 The Bureau of Labor Statistics began surveying
individuals on use of their personal time in 2003. The American Time
Use Survey covered approximately 13,000 persons in 2005. Participants
keep "time diaries" on designated days.
|