Issues

in Labor Statistics U.S. Department of Labor

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Workers Are On the Job More Hours

Over the Course of the Year

Summary 97-3

February 1997

The average length of the workweek has risen only slightly since

the 1970s. But rephrasing the

question from “What has been the trend

in the length of the workweek?”—a

question addressed in a companion piece

released at the same time as this

report—to the broader “What has been

the trend in hours at work over an entire

year?” identifies more dramatic shifts.

Two factors in addition to the length

of the workweek affect time spent at

work in a year. First, is the extent to

which a person works at all during any

particular year. Second, is the number of

weeks that a person works during the

year. In the calculation of average

weekly hours, workers are included only

when they work; they are “out of scope”

when they do not. Yet we know that

changes have taken place in the number

of weeks a year that workers are

spending on the job, particularly women

who increasingly have been working

year round (see table).

The following formula takes into

account changes in the share of the

population working and the extent of

their work activity: The aggregate

number of hours worked in a week is the

product of the number of persons at work

in an average week and their average

hours. This is then multiplied by 52

weeks to obtain an estimate of the total

number of hours worked during the year.

Dividing this estimate of aggregate

annual hours by the number who worked

at any time during the year (obtained

from the work experience questions in

the March Current Population Survey)

yields average hours worked per worker

per year.

Annual hours calculated in this

fashion rose steadily for women until the

late 1980s when the rate of growth

slowed slightly. Men’s annual hours

have risen much less than women’s since

the mid-1970s, and appear to be more

sensitive to the business cycle. (See

chart.) The hours series for men is

higher than that for women because men

both work longer work weeks and are

more likely to work year round.

As shown in the tabulation, employed

women worked an average of nearly 20

percent more in 1993 than in 1976,

adding 233 hours to their average work

year, while men added 100 hours to

theirs. But, as with the weekly hours

data, the changing age distribution of the

population had an impact. Adjusting for

this age shift in annual hours only

modestly reduces the rise. Women’s

hours, after age-adjustment, were up

nearly 200 (or 15 percent) over the

period, while men’s average workyear

rose 62 hours or 3 percent.

Average annual

work hours

Men Women

1976 1,805 1,293

1993 1,905 1,526

1976-93 change 100 233

 Age-adjusted

 change 62 193

These calculations still leave one

important trend unaccounted for: the

change in the likelihood of an individual

to work at all during the year could

affect annual hours considerably. Using

the entire population of males as the

denominator, not just those who worked,

there was no net change in the average

annual hours worked by men since the

mid-1970s. This is because men have

become somewhat less likely to be

employed. Their employment-toU.S. Department of Labor

Bureau of Labor Statistics

1976 1980 1984 1988 1992

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

2,000

Men (employment based)

Women (population based)

Men (population based)

Women (employment based)

Average annual hours at work for men and women, 1976-93

In thousands

NOTE: Shaded areas represent recessions.

Average annual hours at work for men and women, 1976-93
Total who worked

during the year

Percent who worked

50 to 52 weeks

1976 1993 1976 1993

Characteristic

Official Business

Penalty for Private use, $300

U.S. Department of Labor

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Washington, DC 20212

FIRST CLASS MAIL

Postage and Fees Paid

U.S. Department of Labor

Permit No. G-738

Persons with work experience who worked year-round full time by age and sex, annual averages,

1976 and 1993

(Numbers in thousands)

population ratio was 75.2 percent in

1993 compared to 77.5 percent in

1976. In contrast to men, a growing

share of women worked over the period.

As a result, when women’s total hours at

work are distributed across their

population base, the rise was even more

rapid than in the employment-based

series. When allocated across the entire

population of women age 16 and over,

the average number of hours each

woman worked grew by 33 percent from

1976 to 1993 (See chart).

For additional information on hours

at work and a technical description of

the Current Population Survey from

which the data used in this report were

derived, contact Jennifer M. Gardner or

Randy Ilg, Office of Employment and

Unemployment Statistics, Bureau of

Labor Statistics, Washington, DC

20212. Tel: (202) 606-6378. Information

in this report is available to sensory

impaired individuals on request. Voice

phone: (202) 606-7828; TDD phone:

(202) 606-5897; TDD message referral

phone: 1-800-326-2577. The material is

in the public domain and, with appropriate credit, may be reproduced without

permission.

Total, 16 years and over ..................................................................... 104,219 135,464 54.3 60.9

 16 to 24 years ................................................................................ 26,251 22,936 27.2 29.0

 25 to 54 years ................................................................................ 61,491 94,794 64.9 69.9

 55 years and over .......................................................................... 16,475 17,734 57.7 54.2

 Men, 16 years and over 59,507 72,049 64.2 68.1

 16 to 24 years ............................................................................ 13,919 11,919 29.2 32.0

 25 to 54 years ........................................................................... 35,619 50,458 77.4 78.1

 55 years and over ..................................................................... 9,969 9,671 66.1 60.5

Women, 16 years and over 44,712 63,415 41.1 52.8

 16 to 24 years ........................................................................... 12,332 11,017 25.0 25.8

 25 to 54 years ........................................................................... 25,874 44,337 47.8 60.6

 55 years and over 6,507 8,062 44.8 46.6

NOTE: Data for 1976 and 1993 are not strictly comparable because

they reflect population controls based on the 1970 and 1980 censuses,

respectively.
Median number of workdays lost due to work injury or illness by age, 1993

SOURCE: BLS, Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses--cases involving

days away from work

All ages 16 to 19 20 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 and over 0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Days