U.S. Department of Labor U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Summary 10-07 / July 2010

The number of hours that Americans work each week 

is an important measure of economic activity. During periods of labor market contraction, the number of hours worked usually falls as businesses cut 

overtime or put some full-time workers on part-time 

schedules. As economic conditions improve, businesses typically increase hours among workers to 

meet expected demand. Changes in hours, then, can 

be a useful gauge of the state of the labor market, 

particularly at turning points in the business cycle. 

Estimates of the number of hours worked are available from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a 

monthly sample survey of households that provides 

the official measure of national unemployment and a 

variety of other labor market data.1

 The CPS measure 

of the workweek refers to actual hours at work during 

the survey reference week for all persons who worked, 

including the self-employed. These data are based on 

responses by individuals and are tabulated on a perperson basis. For workers with more than one job, the 

measure represents hours worked at all jobs combined. 

Trends in hours are influenced by seasonal variations. However, hours estimates have not been available from the CPS on a seasonally adjusted basis in 

the past. Thus, over-the-month comparisons were 

not advisable. Recently, several CPS hours data series have been adjusted for seasonality. (See box.)

Seasonally adjusted CPS hours series

The seasonally adjusted hours series can be accessed by clicking on the links below or by using the codes provided on 

the BLS Web site at http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/srgate.

LNS12005054 Average hours, total at work, all industries

LNS12505054 Average hours, persons who usually work full time, all industries

LNS12033107 Average hours, total at work, agriculture and related industries

LNS12533107 Average hours, persons who usually work full time, agriculture and related industries

LNS12033120 Average hours, total at work, nonagricultural industries

LNS12533120 Average hours, persons who usually work full time, nonagricultural industries

LNS12033251 Average hours, at work in nonagricultural industries, wage and salary workers

LNS12533251 Average hours, at work in nonagricultural industries, wage and salary workers, persons who usually work full time

NOTE: Historical seasonally adjusted series are available from 1976 forward with the exception of average hours for persons who usually work 

full time. Due to a major redesign of the CPS in 1994, those series are available only from 1994 forward.

Issues in Labor St atistics

Seasonally adjusted hours 

series from the Current 

Population Survey
2

Issues in Labor Statistics July 2010

Seasonally adjusted hours series from the Current Population Survey

Seasonal adjustment attempts to eliminate 

the influence of periodic fluctuations brought 

on by recurring calendar-related events 

and makes it easier for data users to observe cyclical movements in the series. 2

 To 

seasonally adjust the series history, it was 

first necessary to account for occurrences 

when the length of the workweek deviated 

from normal seasonal patterns because of 

some unusual event, such as extremely severe weather. If these events had not been 

identified, they could have distorted the normal seasonal pattern for hours, having unintended consequences on the data. Some examples of these abnormal events were major 

winter storms that hit parts of the country in 

January 1977, January 1978, January 1982, 

February 1994, January 1996, and February 2007. In addition, one-time shocks were 

identified and accounted for, such as the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. (These 

attacks occurred during the household survey’s reference week.) After accounting for 

these abnormal events, various hours series 

were seasonally adjusted. (See chart 1.) 

At the end of each calendar year, seasonal 

adjustment factors for the household survey 

are updated. Seasonally adjusted estimates 

for the previous 5-year period are subject to 

revision. First-time revisions for the most recent data can be quite large but rarely alter 

the trend observed in the initial estimates. 

The seasonally adjusted hours series can 

provide useful information for analyzing movements over short timeframes. Seasonally adjusted hours had been on a downward trend 

for roughly a year prior to the onset of several 

recessions of the past 30 years. With respect 

to the 1981–82 and 1990–91 recessions, average hours began increasing within months of 

the respective official ending dates. In the aftermath of the 2001 recession, however, hours 

remained relatively flat for nearly 3 years, 

and then expanded only modestly from 2005–

06. Unlike in previous expansionary periods, 

hours never attained prerecession levels. 

During the current economic contraction, 

average weekly hours have fallen sharply, 

from 39.0 hours at the beginning of the recession in December 2007 to 38.1 hours 

in March 2010. The hours series for persons who usually work full time also declined, although by a smaller magnitude.

In sum, the recently developed seasonally 

adjusted hours series from the CPS provide 

data users with a timely measure of hours for 

all persons at work and for those who usually 

work full time. Changes in these estimates 

over the course of the business cycle provide 

an important gauge of labor market activity. 
3

Labor Review, March 2010, pp. 34–40, on the Internet at http://stats.bls.

gov/opub/mlr/2010/03/art3full.pdf.

2 For more information on seasonal adjustment and associated issues, see 

Richard B. Tiller and Thomas D. Evans, “Methodology for seasonally adjusting 

national household labor force series with revisions for 2010,” Current Population Survey (CPS), Technical Documentation, January 2010, on the Internet at 

http://stats.bls.gov/cps/cpsrs2010.pdf.

1 The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides estimates of hours from two distinct 

surveys–the Current Population Survey (CPS), or household survey, and the 

Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, or establishment survey. Data on 

hours from the CES are usually regarded as the primary source for hours paid 

in the private sector and are tabulated on a per-job basis. The CES recently 

developed hours measures to cover all employees in private, nonfarm establishments. For more information, see Angie Clinton, John Coughlan, and Brian 

Dahlin, “New all-employee hours and earnings from the CES survey,” Monthly 

Notes

This Issues paper was prepared by 

Randy Ilg, an economist in the Division of 

Labor Force Statistics, Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics. Email: 

CPSinfo@bls.gov; Telephone: (202) 691-6378.

Information in this summary will be made available to sensory-impaired individuals upon request. 

Voice phone: (202) 691-5200. Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339. This report is in the public 

domain and may be reproduced without permission. 

Issues in Labor Statistics July 2010

Seasonally adjusted hours series from the Current Population Survey

NOTE: Shaded areas represent recesssions as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). NBER has not yet determined an 

endpoint for the recession that began in December 2007.

Chart 1. Average hours at work, persons at work in all industries, seasonally adjusted, June 1976–March 2010

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 Jun-76 Jun-78 Jun-80 Jun-82 Jun-84 Jun-86 Jun-88 Jun-90 Jun-92 Jun-94 Jun-96 Jun-98 Jun-00 Jun-02 Jun-04 Jun-06 Jun-08 Mar-10 

— Usually work full time

— Total at work