An official website of the United States government 
	  
	Here is how you know
 Department of Labor Logo  United States Department of Labor
 **The .gov means it's official.**
			 Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information,
			make sure you're on a federal government site.
 **The site is secure.**
			 The
			**https://** ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any
			information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.


U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
 Follow Us
 
 Release Calendar Blog
 Search button
          Search:


Menu

  Search button
          Search:
	
	  Follow Us Follow Us on X, formerly referred to as Twitter| Release Calendar | Blog
    Home
        About BLS
		History	
		Our Leadership
		Budget and Performance		
		Questions and Answers	
		A-Z Index	
		Glossary	
		Careers at BLS	
		BLS Speakers Available
		Errata  				
		Contact BLSOverview of BLS Statistics
		Guide to Programs & Services
		Demographics
		Industries
		Business Costs
		Occupations
		GeographyResources For
		Business Leaders
		Consumers
		Developers
		Economists
		Investors
		Jobseekers
		Media
		Public Policymakers
		Researcher		
		Students & Teachers
		Survey Respondents
    Subjects
        Inflation & Prices
		Consumer Price Index
		Producer Price Indexes
		Import/Export Price Indexes
		Contract Escalation
		Price Index Research
		Pay & Benefits
		Employment Cost Index
		Employer Costs for Employee Compensation
						Wage Data by Occupation
		Earnings by Demographics
		Earnings by Industry
		County Wages  
		Benefits
		Modeled Wage Estimates		
		Compensation Research
		Strikes & Lockouts
		Wage Records from Unemployment Insurance
		Occupational RequirementsUnemployment
		National Unemployment Rate
		State & Local Unemployment Rates
		Unemployment Research
		Employment
		National Employment
		State & Local Employment
		County Employment 
		Worker Characteristics
		American Indian Report
		Employment Projections
		Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey
		Business Response Survey
		Employment by Occupation
		Work Experience Over Time
		Business Employment Dynamics
		Foreign Direct Investment
		Employment Research
		Workplace InjuriesProductivity
		Labor and Total Factor Productivity
		Productivity Research
		Spending & Time Use
		Consumer Expenditures
		How Americans Spend Time			
		International
		International Technical Cooperation
		Import/Export Price Indexes
		Geographic Information
		Northeast (Boston-New York)
		Mid-Atlantic (Philadelphia)
		Southeast (Atlanta)
		Midwest (Chicago)
		Southwest (Dallas)
		Mountain-Plains (Kansas City)
		West (San Francisco)
    Data Tools
        Data Retrieval Tools
		BLS Popular Series
		Series Report
		Top Picks, One Screen, Multi-Screen, and Maps
		Data Finder
		Public Data APICharts and Applications
		Charts for Economic News Releases	
		CPI Inflation Calculator	
		Injury and Illness Calculator		
		Pay Measure Comparison
		Demographic Data Sources
		COVID-19 Economic Trends
		Industry Productivity Viewer
		Employment and Wages Data Viewer
		Industry Finder from the Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesCustomized Tables
		U.S. Economy at a Glance
		Regions, States & Areas at a Glance
		Industry at a Glance			
		Text Files
		News Release Tables
		
		More Sources of Data
		Restricted Data Access
		Discontinued Databases
		Questions & Answers
		Special Notices
    Publications
        Latest Publications
		The Economics Daily
		Monthly Labor Review
		Beyond the Numbers
		Spotlight on Statistics
		Reports
		Commissioner's Corner
		Videos
		Career OutlookOccupational Outlook Handbook
		Geographic Profile
		Handbook of Methods
		Research Papers
		Copyright Information
		Contact & Help
		Weekly Update
    Economic Releases
        Latest Releases
		Major Economic Indicators
		Schedules for news Releases
		By Month
		By News Release
		Current Year
		Prior Years
		Archived News ReleasesEmployment & Unemployment
		Monthly
		Quarterly, annual, and other
		Inflation & Prices
		Pay & Benefits & Workplace Injuries
		Productivity & Technology
		Employment Projections
		Regional News Releases
    Classroom
        K-12 Student & Teacher Resources		
        Games & Quizzes
		Student's Desk
		Teacher's Desk
		Questions & Answers
    Beta
        Redesigned News Releases


Overview
                     Concepts
                     Data sources
                     Design
                     CalculationData processingEstimationData quality
                     Presentation
                     History
                     More Info
                 
                 
              
			                   	
                                  
		
		












	
	
	
	
	Methods Home
        About
		Programs
		Glossarysearch
	                 

				 				 				                                                 					
				                
	             Handbook of Methods > 
					                      American Time Use Survey

                 Handbook of Methods American Time Use Survey Calculation
                     American Time Use Survey: Calculation
				  
				   				   
			  
			   				
				
				
				
			  				
				
				
				
			  				
				
				
				
			   



Data processing
After American Time Use Survey (ATUS) raw data are collected and coded, they go through an editing and imputation process that allows them to be used to produce estimates of time spent in daily activities. Many of the edits performed on ATUS data deal with item nonresponse. Imputation is a common way of treating item nonresponse, and many ATUS variables are imputed if missing. Chapter 6 of the User’s Guide specifies the different imputation methods used for different variables, and the ATUS data dictionaries have further information on how to identify edited variables and their allocated values. In addition to the various imputation procedures, data edits are performed for confidentiality (any data elements identifying the respondent are removed from the microdata files) and consistency, some variables are recoded, and the data are weighted. ATUS weights are designed to reduce any bias in the estimates that is due to differences in sampling and response rates across subpopulations and days of the week. For more information about the weights, see chapter 7 of the User’s Guide. Once the data have been through processing, editing, and imputation, the edited data sets are ready for analysis and eventual publication. Annual and multiyear ATUS microdata files are available for free from the ATUS website at www.bls.gov/tus/data.htm.
Estimation
Chapter 7 of the ATUS User’s Guide contains information about the types of estimates that can be generated with the ATUS data and the formulas needed to produce those estimates. Numerous types of estimates and analyses can be produced with the ATUS data; however, there are three main types of ATUS estimates: average hours, participation rates, and number of people. ATUS estimates are representative of the civilian noninstitutional population ages 15 and older and of various subpopulations. Official ATUS estimates are published annually. In addition, historic time-use estimates for over 100 activities, by gender and day of week, age group, employment status, and the presence and age of own household children are available from the BLS database.
To generate estimates, researchers and others may use ATUS microdata files together with a statistical software package, such as SAS, Stata, or SPSS. Researchers use the data in a variety of ways. For example, one can examine the time use of particular subpopulations, look at time use patterns throughout the course of the day, investigate trends in time use over the course of several years, or explore particular activities or combinations of activities. ATUS microdata files also can be linked with CPS data files for further research.
Tables with published time-use estimates are available at www.bls.gov/tus/tables.htm. An archive of all ATUS news releases is available at www.bls.gov/tus/news.htm.
ATUS estimates are available as time series from the ATUS data base at https://www.bls.gov/tus/labstattips.htm.
Data quality
Statistics based on the ATUS are subject to both sampling error and nonsampling error. When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, estimates differ from the true population values they represent. The component of this difference that occurs because samples differ by chance is known as sampling error, and its variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate.
Sample estimates from a given survey design are unbiased when an average of the estimates from all possible samples would yield, hypothetically, the true population value. In this case, the sample estimate and its standard error can be used to construct approximate confidence intervals, or ranges of values that include the true population value accompanied by known probabilities. If the process of selecting a sample from the population were repeated many times, an estimate made from each sample, and a suitable estimate of its standard error calculated for each sample, then approximately 90 percent of the intervals from 1.645 standard errors below the estimate to 1.645 standard errors above the estimate would include the true population value.
The ATUS data also are affected by nonsampling error, which is the average difference between population and sample values for samples generated by a given process. Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to obtain information from all respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data. Errors can also occur if nonresponse is correlated with time use. The average annual response rates for the ATUS can be found in chapter 3.6 of the ATUS User’s Guide. The ATUS statistical weights in part adjust for nonsampling error, and quality assurance procedures are used to minimize nonsampling, data entry, and coding errors in the survey estimates.
Although attempts have been made to collect the most accurate data possible, the ATUS data do have limitations. For example, with the exception of childcare, information on secondary activities (activities that are done at the same time as the primary activity) is not collected. This decision not to collect such information could lead to underestimates of the amount of time people spend doing activities that are frequently done in combination with other activities. For instance, ATUS estimates likely underestimate the amount of time people spend listening to music, because so many people listen to music while doing other things.
Estimates appearing in ATUS tables must meet reliability standards before being presented to the public. In 2010, a new standard was developed that takes into account the coefficient of variation, standard error, and number of observations available before reporting an estimate. Prior to 2010, a standard was in place that included only the sample size or population base for the estimate.
Beginning with 2010 data, ATUS estimates of average hours per day and participation rates are not published unless there are a minimum number of respondents representing the given population. Additional publication criteria are applied that include the number of respondents who reported doing a specified activity and the standard error or coefficient of variation for the estimate. Estimates that are considered “close to zero” or that round to zero (e.g., 0.00 for estimates of hours) are published as approximately zero, or “~0.”
Chapter 10 of the User’s Guide has additional information on ATUS data quality. For a detailed description of the statistical reliability criteria necessary for publication, please email the ATUS staff at ATUSinfo@bls.gov.

				    				   
				   				   
                 Last Modified Date: September 17, 2021 Facebook
 Twitter
 LinkedIn


Home
   Subjects
   Data Tools
   Publications
   Economic Releases
   Classroom
   Beta


**U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics**
Division of Information and Marketing Services 
PSB Suite 2850 
2 Massachusetts Avenue NE  
Washington, DC 20212-0001 Telephone:1-202-691-5200 Telecommunications Relay Service:7-1-1 www.bls.gov/OPUB Contact Us
 resources  Inspector General (OIG)
								Budget and Performance	
								Department of Labor Grants									
								No Fear Act
								USA.gov
								Vote.gov
 about the site  Sitemap						
								Freedom of Information Act
								Privacy and Security Statement
								Disclaimers
								Linking and Copyright Info	
								Important Website Notices
								Help and Tutorials
								Babel Notice: accessing language services


Twitter Youtube Email


- Publications
- Handbook of Methods