How many hours a week do Americans work? What’s the average amount of hours an employee works in a typical week? How does this change based on factors like age, gender, and race?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks how many hours per week the average American works and releases that information as part of the monthly Employment Situation Summary. As of 2021, Americans worked an average of 38.7 hours per week.
Key Takeaways
- The average hours worked per week in the U.S. was 38.7 hours as of 2021.
- Men worked an average of 40.5 hours per week, while women worked 36.6 hours per week.
- Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 24% of workers worked from home, while 38% did some work from home in 2021.
What Are the Average Hours Worked in the US?
The average work hours per week for U.S. workers are shown below, along with a further breakdown by age, gender, race, ethnicity, and marital status. The data is based on the 2021 Current Population Survey courtesy of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Average Hours per Week Worked (US)
Age
Age 16 years and older: 38.7
Age 16-19: 25.0
Age 20-24: 34.8
Age 25-54: 40.2
55 and Over: 38.0
Gender
Men worked an average of 40.5 hours per week in paid employment. Women worked an average of 36.6 hours per week.
Marital Status
Married men worked nearly 4.0 hours more per week than men who had never married. Married women worked 1.7 hours more than women who had never married.
Race
White American: 38.7 hours per week
African American: 38.8 hours per week
Asian American: 38.6 hours per week
Ethnicity
Hispanic and Latino: 38.1 hours per week
Note
The average hours worked vary according to gender, age, marital status, race, ethnicity location, type of job, and education level.
Average Hours per Day Worked (US)
The average work hours per day for U.S. workers vary based on factors like weekend vs. weekday work, working from home vs. working in an office, and self-employed vs. salaried employee status. Factors like gender and education also influence the numbers.
In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, only 24% of workers worked from home. However, in 2021, 38% of workers did some work from home while 68% worked in the workplace either partly or entirely. Below are the average work hours per day according to 2021 figures from the BLS:
- Average work hours per day in the workplace: 7.8 hours
- Average work hours per day working from home: 5.6 hours
Hours per Week Worked in Other Countries
TechRepublic reports that the Netherlands has the shortest average workweek of 29 hours, followed by Denmark at 32 hours per week. Countries with the highest average amount of hours worked included:
- Colombia – 48 hours
- Turkey – 48 hours
- Mexico – 45 hours
- South Africa – 43 hours
Hours Worked by Gender
- On days worked, employed men worked an average of 43 minutes more than employed women—this difference may be on account of women’s higher instances of part-time work (there were almost twice as many part-time female employees as there were part-time male employees).
- However, for full-time workers, men worked longer than women, working 8.4 hours compared to 7.8 hours for women.
- Notably, women spent more time with household responsibilities: On an average day, 86% of women and 71% of men spent some time doing household activities, such as housework, cooking, lawn care, or household management. On the days they did household activities, women spent an average of 2.7 hours on these activities, while men spent 2.2 hours.
Hours Worked per Week by Type of Employment
- People holding multiple jobs were more likely to work on an average weekday than single-job holders (88.5% vs. 82.1%).
Hours Worked per Week by Education
- Those with advanced degrees (bachelor’s degrees and higher) are more likely to work from home: 67% of employed people over 25 years old with an advanced degree did some work from home. Only 19% of workers with a high school diploma and no college did some work from home.
- Workers with advanced degrees are more likely to work on an average day (74%) than those with a high school diploma (64%).
- Those with an advanced degree worked an average of 7.83 hours per day (including weekends), while those with only a high school diploma worked the most on an average day: 8.08 hours.
Hours Worked per Weekend
- Many more full-time employed persons worked on weekdays than on weekend days: 88.3% worked on an average weekday, compared with 31.6% on an average weekend day.
- Employed people worked an average of 5.64 hours on a weekend day.
- Multiple jobholders were more likely to work on an average weekend day—51%, compared with 30.8% for those holding down only one job.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are the average work hours per week in the U.S.?
The average hours worked per week was 38.7 hours as of 2021. Men worked an average of 40.5 hours per week, while women worked 36.6 hours per week.
What are the average work hours per day?
In 2021, the average work hours per day was 7.8 hours in the workplace versus 5.6 hours per day working from home. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 24% of workers worked from home versus 38% in 2021.
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