Technical information: (202) 691-6339 USDL 08-0859
http://www.bls.gov/tus/
For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Wednesday, June 25, 2008
(NOTE: This release was reissued on Wednesday, November 12,
2008, to correct two labels in the earnings section of table 5.
No other changes were made.)
AMERICAN TIME USE SURVEY--2007 RESULTS
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor
reported today that in 2007:
--Twenty percent of employed persons did some or all of their work
at home on days that they worked, and 87 percent did some or all of
their work at their workplace.
--On an average day (which includes all 7 days of the week), 83 percent
of women and 66 percent of men spent some time doing household activ-
ities, such as housework, cooking, lawn care, or financial and other
household management.
--Watching TV was the leisure activity that occupied the most time,
accounting for about half of leisure time, on average, for both men
and women.
This annual release of American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data focuses on
the average amount of time per day in 2007 that Americans worked, did house-
hold activities, cared for household children, participated in educational
activities, and engaged in leisure and sports activities. It also includes
measures of the average time per day spent providing childcare--both as a
primary (or main) activity and while doing other things--for the combined
years 2003-07. Except for childcare, activities done simultaneously with
primary activities were not collected. For a further description of ATUS
data and methodology, see the Technical Note.
Working (by Employed Persons) in 2007
--Employed persons worked an average of 7.6 hours on the days that
they worked. They worked longer on weekdays than on weekend days--
7.9 versus 5.6 hours. (See table 4.)
--On the days that they worked, employed men worked about three-quarters
of an hour more than employed women. This difference partly reflects
women’s greater likelihood of working part time. However, even among
full-time workers (those usually working 35 hours or more per week),
men worked slightly longer than women--8.2 versus 7.8 hours. (See
table 4.)
--Many more people worked on weekdays than on weekend days: 83 percent
of employed persons worked on an average weekday compared with 36 per-
cent on an average weekend day. (See table 4.)
--On the days that they worked, 20 percent of employed persons did some
or all of their work at home, and 87 percent did some or all of their
work at their workplace. Hours worked at home averaged 2.8 hours per
day, while hours worked at a workplace averaged 7.9 hours per day. Men
and women were equally likely to do some or all of their work at home.
(See table 6.)
--Multiple jobholders were almost twice as likely to work on an average
weekend day as were single jobholders--62 versus 33 percent. Multiple
jobholders also were much more likely to work at home than were single
jobholders--31 versus 18 percent. (See tables 4 and 6.)
- 2 -
--Self-employed workers were more likely than wage and salary workers
to have done some work at home--55 versus 16 percent. (See table 7.)
--On days that they worked, 35 percent of employed people age 25 and over
with a bachelor’s degree or higher did some work at home compared with
only 6 percent of those with less than a high school diploma. (See
table 6.)
Household Activities in 2007
--On an average day, 83 percent of women and 66 percent of men spent some
time doing household activities, such as housework, cooking, lawn care,
or financial and other household management. (For a definition of aver-
age day, see the Technical Note.) (See table 1.)
--On the days that they did household activities, women spent an aver-
age of 2.7 hours on such activities, while men spent 2.2 hours. (See
table 1.)
--On an average day, 20 percent of men did housework--such as cleaning or
doing laundry--compared with 52 percent of women. Thirty-seven percent
of men did food preparation or cleanup compared with 64 percent of women.
(See table 1.)
Educational Activities in 2007
--About 9 percent of the population engaged in educational activities, such
as attending class or doing homework, on an average weekday. Those who
attended class on a weekday spent an average of 5.2 hours doing so, and
those who did homework and research on a weekday spent 2.4 hours in such
activities. (See table 2.)
--Persons who did homework spent more time doing so on an average weekend
day (3.0 hours) than on an average weekday (2.4 hours). (See table 2.)
--On an average day, persons ages 15 to 19 spent 3.1 hours engaged in
educational activities, more than three times as long as individuals
in any other age group. (See table 3.)
Leisure Activities in 2007
--On an average day, nearly everyone age 15 and over (96 percent) engaged
in some sort of leisure activity, such as watching TV, socializing, or
exercising. Of those who engaged in leisure activities, men spent more
time in these activities (5.7 hours) than did women (5.0 hours). (See
table 1.)
--Watching TV was the leisure activity that occupied the most time, ac-
counting for about half of leisure time, on average, for both men and
women. Socializing, such as visiting with friends or attending or
hosting social events, was the next most common leisure activity, ac-
counting for about three-quarters of an hour per day for both sexes.
(See table 1.)
--Men were more likely than women to participate in sports, exercise, or
recreation on any given day--21 versus 16 percent. On the days that
they participated, men also spent more time in these activities than
did women, 2.0 versus 1.4 hours. (See table 1.)
--On an average day, adults age 75 and over spent 7.8 hours engaged in
leisure activities--more than any other age group; 25- to 34-year-olds
and 35- to 44-year-olds spent 4.2 hours engaged in leisure and sports
activities--less than other age groups. (See table 11.)
--Time spent reading for personal interest and playing games or using
a computer for leisure varied greatly by age. Individuals age 75
and over averaged 1.1 hours of reading per weekend day and 0.3 hour
- 3 -
(20 minutes) playing games or using a computer for leisure. Con-
versely, individuals ages 15 to 19 read for an average of 0.3 hour
(16 minutes) per weekend day while spending 0.8 hour (47 minutes)
playing games or using a computer for leisure. (See table 11.)
--Employed adults living in households with no children under 18 engaged
in leisure activities for 4.4 hours per day, about an hour more than
employed adults living with a child under age 6. (See table 8.)
Care of Household Children (by Adults in Households with Children) for the
period 2003-07
--Adults living in households with children under 6 spent an average of
2.0 hours per day providing primary childcare to household children.
Adults living in households where the youngest child was between the
ages of 6 and 17 spent less than half as much time providing primary
childcare to household children--0.8 hour (46 minutes) per day. Pri-
mary childcare is childcare that is done as a main activity, such as
physical care of children and reading to or talking with children.
(See table 9.)
--On an average weekday, among adults living in households with children
under 6, women spent 1.2 hours providing physical care (such as bathing
or feeding a child) to household children; by contrast, men spent 0.4
hour (23 minutes). On an average weekend day, women provided about an
hour of physical care to household children, while men provided about
half an hour. (See table 9.)
--Adults living in households with children under 6 spent an average of
5.6 hours per day providing secondary childcare--that is, they had at
least one child under age 13 in their care while doing activities other
than primary childcare. Secondary childcare was most commonly provided
while doing leisure activities (2.2 hours) or household activities (1.4
hours). (See table 10.)
--Adults living in households with children under 6 spent more time pro-
viding primary childcare on an average weekday (2.1 hours) than on an
average weekend day (1.7 hours). However, they spent less time pro-
viding secondary childcare on weekdays than on weekend days--4.8 versus
7.6 hours. (See tables 9 and 10.)
Microdata Release
Today, BLS also released ten 2007 ATUS microdata files for users who wish to
do their own tabulations and analyses. In accordance with BLS and Census Bureau
policies that protect survey respondents' privacy, identifying information was
removed from the microdata files and some responses have been edited. The 2007
microdata files are available on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/tus/
datafiles_2007.htm.
For More Information
For additional information, please see the Technical Note or the ATUS Web
site at http://www.bls.gov/tus/home.htm. Additional information about the ATUS
also may be obtained by e-mailing ATUSinfo@bls.gov or by calling (202) 691-6339.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individ-
uals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; TDD message referral phone:
1-800-877-8339.
- 4 -
Technical Note
Survey methodology
Data collection for the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) began in
January 2003. Sample cases for the survey are selected monthly and
interviews are conducted continuously throughout the year. In 2007,
approximately 12,250 individuals were interviewed. Estimates are
released annually.
ATUS sample households are chosen from the households that com-
pleted their eighth (final) interview for the Current Population
Survey (CPS), the nation’s monthly household labor force survey.
ATUS sample households are selected to ensure that estimates will
be nationally representative.
One individual age 15 or over is randomly chosen from each sam-
pled household. This "designated person" is interviewed by tele-
phone once about his or her activities on the day before the inter-
view--the "diary day."
All ATUS interviews are conducted using Computer Assisted Tele-
phone Interviewing. Procedures are in place to collect information
from the small number of households that did not provide a telephone
number during the CPS interview.
ATUS designated persons are preassigned a day of the week about
which to report. Preassignment is designed to reduce variability in
response rates across the week and to allow oversampling of weekend
days so that accurate weekend day measures can be developed. Inter-
views occur on the day following the assigned day. For example, a
person assigned to report about a Monday would be contacted on the
following Tuesday. Ten percent of designated persons are assigned
to report about each of the five weekdays. Twenty-five percent are
assigned to report about each weekend day. Households are called
for up to 8 consecutive weeks (for example, 8 Tuesdays) in order to
secure an interview.
About the questionnaire
In the time diary portion of the ATUS interview, survey respondents
sequentially report activities they did between 4 a.m. on the day be-
fore the interview ("yesterday") until 4 a.m. on the day of the inter-
view. For each activity, respondents are asked how long the activity
lasted. For activities other than personal care activities (such as
sleeping and grooming), interviewers also ask respondents where they
were. And for activities other than personal care and work, they are
asked who was in the room with them (if at home) or who accompanied
them (if away from home). If respondents report doing more than one
activity at a time, they are asked to identify which one was the "main"
(primary) activity. If none can be identified, then the interviewer re-
cords the first activity mentioned. After completing the time diary,
interviewers ask respondents additional questions to clearly identify
work, volunteering, and secondary childcare activities. Secondary
childcare is defined as having a child under age 13 in one’s care while
doing other activities.
- 5 -
In addition, the ATUS includes an update of the household composition
information from the last CPS interview (2 to 5 months prior to the ATUS
interview) and the employment status information of the respondent and
his or her spouse or unmarried partner. For respondents who became em-
ployed or changed jobs between the last CPS interview and the ATUS inter-
view, information also is collected on industry, occupation, class of
worker, and earnings. For those who are unemployed and/or on layoff, CPS
questions on job search activities are asked. Those who report being on
layoff are asked if or when they expect to be recalled to work. Finally,
a question about current school enrollment status is asked of all respon-
dents ages 15 to 49.
After completing the interview, primary activity descriptions are as-
signed a single 6-digit code using the ATUS Coding Lexicon. The 3-tier
coding system consists of 17 major activity categories, each with multi-
ple second- and third-tier subcategories. These coding lexicon categor-
ies are then combined into composite categories for publication, such as
in this news release. Descriptions of categories shown in this release
can be found in the Major activity category definitions section of this
Technical Note. The 2007 ATUS Coding Lexicon can be accessed at http://
www.bls.gov/tus/lexicons.htm.
Concepts and definitions
Average day. The average day measure reflects an average distribution
across all persons in the reference population and all days of the week.
Average day measures for the entire population provide a mechanism for
seeing the overall distribution of time allocation for society as a whole.
The ATUS collects data about daily activities from all segments of the
population age 15 and over, including persons who are employed and not em-
ployed. Activity profiles differ based upon age, employment status, gender,
and other characteristics. On an average day in 2007, persons in the U.S.
age 15 and over worked for 3.8 hours, slept about 8.6 hours, spent 5.1 hours
doing leisure and sports activities, and spent 1.8 hours doing household ac-
tivities. The remaining 4.7 hours were spent doing a variety of other activ-
ities, including eating and drinking, attending school, and shopping. (See
table 1.) By comparison, an average weekday for persons employed full time
on days that they worked included 9.1 hours working, 7.6 hours sleeping, 3.0
hours doing leisure and sports activities, and 0.9 hour doing household activ-
ities. The remaining 3.4 hours were spent in other activities, such as those
described above. (These estimates include related travel time.)
Many activities typically are not done on a daily basis, and some activ-
ities only are done by a subset of the population. For example, only 46 per-
cent of all persons age 15 years and over worked on an average day in 2007
because some were not employed and those who were employed did not work every
day. (See table 1.)
Average hours per day. The average number of hours spent in a 24-hour day
(between 4 a.m. on the diary day and 4 a.m. on the interview day) doing a spe-
cified activity.
--Average hours per day, population. The average number of hours per day
is computed using all responses from a given population, including those
of respondents who did not do a particular activity on their diary day.
These estimates reflect how many population members engaged in an activ-
ity and the amount of time they spent doing it.
--Average hours per day, persons who did the activity. The average number
of hours per day is computed using only responses from those who engaged
in a particular activity on their diary day.
Diary day. The diary day is the day about which the respondent reports.
For example, the diary day of a respondent interviewed on Tuesday is Monday.
- 6 -
Earnings
--Usual weekly earnings. Data represent the earnings of full-time wage
and salary workers before taxes and other deductions and include any
overtime pay, commissions, or tips usually received (at the main job
in the case of multiple jobholders). Usual weekly earnings are only
updated in ATUS for about a third of employed respondents--if the
respondent changed jobs or employment status or if the CPS weekly
earnings value was imputed. This means that the earnings information
could be out of date because the CPS interview was done 2 to 5 months
prior to the ATUS interview. Respondents are asked to identify the
easiest way for them to report earnings (hourly, weekly, biweekly,
twice monthly, annually, or other) and how much they usually earn in
the reported time period. Earnings reported on a basis other than
weekly are converted to a weekly equivalent. The term "usual" is as
perceived by the respondent. If the respondent asks for a definition
of usual, interviewers are instructed to define the term as more than
half the weeks worked during the past 4 or 5 months.
--Weekly earnings ranges. The ranges used represent approximately 25 per-
cent of full-time wage and salary workers. For example, 25 percent of
full-time wage and salary workers had weekly earnings of $480 or less.
These dollar values vary from year to year.
Employment status
--Employed. All persons who, at any time during the 7 days prior to the
interview:
1) Did any work at all as paid employees; worked in their own business,
profession, or on their own farm; or usually worked 15 hours or more as
unpaid workers in a family-operated enterprise; or
2) Were not working but had jobs or businesses from which they were tem-
porarily absent due to illness, bad weather, vacation, childcare problems,
labor-management disputes, maternity or paternity leave, job training, or
other family or personal reasons, whether or not they were paid for the
time off or were seeking other jobs.
--Employed full time. Full-time workers are those who usually worked 35
hours or more per week at all jobs combined.
--Employed part time. Part-time workers are those who usually worked fewer
than 35 hours per week at all jobs combined.
--Not employed. Persons are not employed if they do not meet the conditions
for employment. The not employed include those classified as unemployed as
well as those classified as not in the labor force (using CPS definitions).
The numbers of employed and not employed persons in this report do not corre-
spond to published totals from the CPS for several reasons. First, the reference
population for the ATUS is age 15 years and over, whereas it is age 16 years and
over for the CPS. Second, ATUS data are collected continuously, the employment
reference period being the 7 days prior to the interview. By contrast, CPS data
are usually collected during the week including the 19th of the month and refer
to employment during the week containing the 12th of the month. Finally, the
CPS accepts answers from household members about other household members whereas
such proxy responses are not allowed in the ATUS. One consequence of the differ-
ence in proxy reporting is that a significantly higher proportion of teenagers
report employment in the ATUS than in the CPS. While the information on employ-
ment from the ATUS is useful for assessing work in the context of other daily
activities, the employment data are not intended for analysis of current employ-
ment trends. Compared with the CPS and other estimates of employment, the ATUS
estimates are based on a much smaller sample and are only available with a sub-
stantial lag since ATUS data and estimates are published during the year fol-
lowing data collection.
- 7 -
Household children. Household children are children under age 18 residing
in the household of the ATUS respondent. The children may be related to the re-
spondent (such as his or her own children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews, or
brothers or sisters) or not related (such as foster children or children of room-
mates). For secondary childcare calculations, respondents are asked separately
about care for own and nonown household children under age 13.
Primary activity. A primary activity is the main activity a respondent was
doing at a specified time. With the exception of secondary childcare in table 10,
the estimates presented in this release reflect time spent in primary activities
only.
Secondary activities. A secondary (or simultaneous) activity is an activity
done at the same time as a primary activity. With the exception of the care of
children under age 13, information on secondary activities is not systematically
collected in the ATUS.
Secondary childcare. Secondary childcare is care for children under age 13
that is done while doing an activity other than primary childcare, such as cooking
dinner. Secondary childcare estimates are derived by summing the durations of ac-
tivities during which respondents had a household child or their own nonhousehold
child under age 13 in their care while doing activities other than primary child-
care. It is restricted to times the respondent was awake. Secondary childcare
time for household children is further restricted to the time between when the
first household child under age 13 woke up and the last household child under
age 13 went to bed. If respondents report providing both primary and secondary
care at the same time, the time is attributed to primary care only.
Weekday, weekend, and holiday estimates. Estimates for weekdays are an average
of reports about Monday through Friday. Estimates for weekend days and holidays
are an average of reports about Saturdays, Sundays, and the following holidays:
New Year’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving
Day, and Christmas Day. In 2007, the telephone call center was closed the day
after New Year’s Day, so data were not collected about this holiday.
Major activity category definitions
The following definitions describe the activity categories shown in this report.
All major time-use categories in the tables include related travel time and waiting
time. For example, time spent "driving to the stadium" and time spent "waiting to
get into the stadium to play ball" are included in Leisure and sports.
Personal care activities. Personal care activities include sleeping, grooming
(such as bathing or dressing), health-related self-care, and personal or private
activities. Receiving unpaid personal care from others (for example, "my sister
put polish on my nails") also is captured in this category. Respondents are not
asked who they were with or where they were for personal care activities, as such
information can be sensitive.
Eating and drinking. All time spent eating or drinking (except eating and
drinking done as part of a work or volunteer activity), whether alone, with
others, at home, at a place of purchase, or somewhere else, is classified here.
Time spent purchasing or talking related to purchasing meals, snacks, or bever-
ages is not counted as part of this category; time spent doing these activities
is counted in Purchasing goods and services.
Household activities. Household activities are those done by persons to main-
tain their households. These include housework; cooking; lawn and garden care;
pet care; vehicle maintenance and repair; home maintenance, repair, decoration,
and renovation; and household management and organizational activities (such as
filling out paperwork, balancing a checkbook, or planning a party). Food pre-
paration, whether or not reported as done specifically for another household
member, is always classified as a household activity, unless it was done as a
volunteer, work, or income-generating activity. For example, "making break-
fast for my son" is coded as a household activity, not as childcare.
- 8 -
Purchasing goods and services. This category includes purchases of consumer
goods, professional and personal care services, household services, and govern-
ment services. Consumer purchases include most purchases and rentals of consumer
goods, regardless of the mode or place of purchase or rental (in person, via tele-
phone, over the Internet, at home, or in a store). Gasoline, grocery, other food
purchases, and all other shopping are further broken out in subcategories.
Time spent obtaining, receiving, and purchasing professional and personal care
services provided by someone else also is classified in this category. Profes-
sional services include childcare, financial services and banking, legal services,
medical and adult care services, real estate services, and veterinary services.
Personal care services include day spas, hair salons and barbershops, nail salons,
and tanning salons. Activities classified here include time spent paying, meeting
with, or talking to service providers, as well as time spent receiving the service
or waiting to receive the service.
Time spent arranging for and purchasing household services provided by someone
else also is classified here. Household services include housecleaning; cooking;
lawn care and landscaping; pet care; tailoring, laundering, and dry cleaning; ve-
hicle maintenance and repairs; and home repairs, maintenance, and construction.
This category also captures the time spent obtaining government services--such
as applying for food stamps--and purchasing government-required licenses or paying
fines or fees.
Caring for and helping household members. Time spent doing activities to care
for or help any child (under age 18) or adult in the household, regardless of re-
lationship to the respondent or the physical or mental health status of the person
being helped, is classified here. Caring for and helping activities for household
children and adults are coded separately in subcategories.
Primary childcare activities include time spent providing physical care; playing
with children; reading to children; assistance with homework; attending children’s
events; taking care of children’s health needs; and dropping off, picking up, and
waiting for children. Passive childcare done as a primary activity (such as "keeping
an eye on my son while he swam in the pool") also is included. A child’s presence
during the activity is not enough in itself to classify the activity as childcare.
For example, "watching television with my child" is coded as a leisure activity, not
as childcare.
Secondary childcare occurs when persons have a child under age 13 "in their care"
while doing activities other than primary childcare. For a complete definition, see
the Concepts and definitions section of this Technical Note.
Caring for and helping household members also includes a range of activities done
to benefit adult members of households, such as providing physical and medical care
or obtaining medical services. Doing something as a favor for or helping another
household adult does not automatically result in classification as a helping activ-
ity. For example, a report of "helping my spouse cook dinner" is considered a
household activity (food preparation), not a helping activity, because cooking din-
ner benefits the household as a whole. By contrast, doing paperwork for another
person usually benefits the individual, so a report of "filling out an insurance
application for my spouse" is considered a helping activity.
Caring for and helping nonhousehold members. Caring for and helping nonhouse-
hold members includes activities persons do to care for or help those--either chil-
dren (under age 18) or adults--who do not live with them. When done for or through an
organization, time spent helping nonhousehold members is classified as volunteering,
rather than as helping nonhousehold members. Care of nonhousehold children, even when
done as a favor or helping activity for another adult, is always classified as caring
for and helping nonhousehold children, not as helping another adult.
- 9 -
Working and work-related activities. This category includes time spent working,
doing activities as part of one’s job, engaging in income-generating activities (not
as part of one’s job), and job search activities. "Working" includes hours spent
doing the specific tasks required of one’s main or other job, regardless of location
or time of day. "Work-related activities" include activities that are not obviously
work but are done as part of one’s job, such as having a business lunch or playing
golf with clients. "Other income-generating activities" are those done "on the side"
or under informal arrangement and are not part of a regular job. Such activities
might include selling homemade crafts, babysitting, maintaining a rental property,
or having a yard sale. These activities are those that persons "are paid for or
will be paid for."
Travel time related to working and work-related activities includes time spent
traveling to and from work, as well as time spent traveling for work-related, in-
come-generating, and job search activities.
Educational activities. Educational activities include taking classes (including
Internet and other distance-learning courses) for a degree as well as for personal in-
terest; doing research and homework; and taking care of administrative tasks related
to education, such as registering for classes or obtaining a school ID. For high
school students, before- and after-school extracurricular activities (except sports)
also are classified as educational activities. Educational activities do not include
time spent for classes or training received as part of a job. Time spent helping
others with their education-related activities is classified in the Caring for and
helping categories.
Organizational, civic, and religious activities. This category captures time
spent volunteering for or through an organization, performing civic obligations, and
participating in religious and spiritual activities. Civic obligations include gov-
ernment-required duties, such as serving jury duty or appearing in court, and activi-
ties that assist or influence government processes, such as voting or attending town
hall meetings. Religious activities include those normally associated with membership
in or identification with specific religions or denominations, such as attending reli-
gious services; participating in choirs, youth groups, orchestras, or unpaid teaching
(unless identified as volunteer activities); and engaging in personal religious pract-
ices, such as praying.
Leisure and sports. The leisure and sports category includes sports, exercise, and
recreation; socializing and communicating; and other leisure activities. Sports, ex-
ercise, and recreation activities include participating in--as well as attending or
watching--sports, exercise and recreational activities. Recreational activities are
leisure activities that are active in nature, such as yard games like croquet or
horseshoes. Socializing and communicating includes face-to-face social communication
and hosting or attending social functions. Leisure activities include watching tele-
vision; reading; relaxing or thinking; playing computer, board, or card games; using
a computer or the Internet for personal interest; playing or listening to music; and
other activities, such as attending arts, cultural, and entertainment events.
Telephone calls, mail, and e-mail. This category captures telephone communication
and handling household or personal mail or e-mail. Telephone and Internet purchases
are classified in Purchasing goods and services. Telephone calls, mail, or e-mail
identified as related to work or volunteering are classified as work or volunteering.
Other activities, not elsewhere classified. This residual category includes secur-
ity procedures related to traveling, traveling not associated with a specific activity
category, ambiguous activities that could not be coded, and missing activities. Mis-
sing activities result when respondents did not remember what they did for a period of
time, or when they considered an activity too private or personal to report.
Processing and estimation
After ATUS data are collected, they go through an editing and imputation procedure.
Responses to CPS questions that are re-asked in the ATUS go through the regular CPS
edit and imputation procedures. Some item nonresponses for questions unique to the
ATUS (such as where an activity took place or how much time was spent doing secondary
childcare) also are imputed. Missing activities and missing values for who was present
during an activity are never imputed.
- 10 -
ATUS records are weighted to reduce bias in the estimates due to differences in
sampling and response rates across subpopulations and days of the week. Specifically,
the data are weighted to ensure the following:
--Weekdays represent about 5/7 of the weighted data, and weekend days each represent
about 1/7 of the weighted data for the population as a whole. The actual propor-
tions depend on the number of weekdays and weekend days in a given quarter.
--The sum of the weights is equal to the number of person-days in the quarter for
the population as a whole and for selected subpopulations.
Reliability of the estimates
Statistics based on the ATUS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error.
When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there is a chance that
the sample estimates may differ from the "true" population values they represent. The
exact difference, or sampling error, varies depending on the particular sample selected,
and this variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is about
a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will
differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the "true" population value because
of sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of
confidence.
The ATUS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur
for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the population, inabil-
ity to obtain information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwilling-
ess of respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in the collection
or processing of the data. Errors also could occur if nonresponse is correlated with
time use.
Table 1. Time spent in primary activities (1) and percent of the civilian population engaging in each activity,
averages per day by sex, 2007 annual averages
Average hours per day, Average percent engaged Average hours per day
civilian population in the activity per day for persons who engaged
Activity in the activity
Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women
Total, all activities (2)............... 24.00 24.00 24.00 - - - - - -
Personal care activities.............. 9.33 9.14 9.51 100.0 100.0 100.0 9.33 9.14 9.51
Sleeping........................... 8.57 8.52 8.63 99.9 99.9 99.9 8.58 8.53 8.63
Eating and drinking................... 1.24 1.27 1.20 95.4 95.7 95.1 1.30 1.33 1.26
Household activities.................. 1.84 1.43 2.22 74.4 65.6 82.7 2.47 2.18 2.69
Housework.......................... .64 .29 .97 36.2 19.7 51.7 1.76 1.46 1.87
Food preparation and cleanup....... .52 .28 .74 50.8 37.3 63.5 1.02 .75 1.17
Lawn and garden care............... .21 .30 .12 10.3 12.9 7.9 2.00 2.32 1.51
Household management............... .14 .12 .16 18.2 15.2 21.0 .78 .82 .75
Purchasing goods and services......... .78 .63 .92 44.3 40.1 48.2 1.77 1.58 1.92
Consumer goods purchases........... .39 .31 .48 40.6 37.2 43.8 .97 .83 1.09
Professional and personal care
services........................... .09 .06 .12 8.4 6.3 10.4 1.04 .88 1.13
Caring for and helping household
members.............................. .53 .33 .72 25.5 20.3 30.4 2.08 1.62 2.38
Caring for and helping household
children........................... .42 .25 .58 21.8 16.4 26.9 1.92 1.49 2.17
Caring for and helping nonhousehold
members.............................. .20 .17 .23 12.8 10.7 14.8 1.56 1.56 1.56
Caring for and helping nonhousehold
adults............................ .07 .07 .07 8.0 7.2 8.8 .87 .95 .81
Working and work-related activities... 3.81 4.52 3.14 47.8 54.2 41.7 7.98 8.34 7.53
Working............................ 3.47 4.09 2.89 45.9 51.9 40.2 7.56 7.87 7.18
Educational activities................ .43 .41 .44 7.9 7.6 8.2 5.42 5.39 5.44
Attending class.................... .26 .26 .25 5.0 4.9 5.0 5.15 5.20 5.10
Homework and research.............. .14 .12 .15 5.4 4.6 6.0 2.53 2.52 2.54
Organizational, civic, and religious
activities........................... .35 .28 .41 14.5 11.8 17.1 2.42 2.42 2.42
Religious and spiritual activities .15 .11 .18 8.9 6.9 10.8 1.66 1.64 1.67
Volunteering (organizational and
civic activities)................. .16 .13 .18 7.1 6.0 8.2 2.22 2.21 2.23
Leisure and sports.................... 5.11 5.48 4.76 95.8 96.0 95.6 5.33 5.71 4.98
Socializing and communicating...... .73 .67 .78 38.4 35.3 41.4 1.89 1.89 1.89
Watching television................ 2.62 2.88 2.38 79.5 81.4 77.7 3.30 3.54 3.07
Participating in sports, exercise,
and recreation.................... .32 .42 .22 18.5 21.4 15.7 1.71 1.96 1.39
Telephone calls, mail, and e-mail..... .19 .13 .24 24.4 19.1 29.3 .76 .66 .82
Other activities, not elsewhere
classified........................... .20 .20 .19 14.1 13.0 15.1 1.40 1.57 1.26
1 A primary activity refers to an individual's main activity. Other activities done simultaneously are not
included.
2 All major activity categories include related travel time. See Technical Note for activity category
definitions.
- Not applicable.
NOTE: Data refer to persons 15 years and over.
Table 2. Time spent in primary activities (1) and percent of the civilian population engaging in each
activity, averages per day on weekdays and weekends, 2007 annual averages
Average hours per Average percent Average hours per
day, civilian engaged in the day for persons who
population activity per day engaged in the
activity
Activity
Weekends Weekends Weekends
Weekdays and Weekdays and Weekdays and
holidays holidays holidays
(2) (2) (2)
Total, all activities (3).................... 24.00 24.00 - - - -
Personal care activities................... 9.06 9.97 100.0 100.0 9.06 9.97
Sleeping................................ 8.29 9.24 99.9 100.0 8.29 9.25
Eating and drinking........................ 1.19 1.33 95.6 94.9 1.25 1.40
Household activities....................... 1.69 2.19 74.1 75.0 2.28 2.92
Housework............................... .59 .76 35.1 38.8 1.67 1.96
Food preparation and cleanup............ .49 .57 52.0 47.9 .95 1.20
Lawn and garden care.................... .18 .28 9.5 12.4 1.85 2.26
Household management.................... .13 .16 18.0 18.6 .73 .88
Purchasing goods and services.............. .74 .88 43.7 45.7 1.70 1.92
Consumer goods purchases................ .34 .52 39.1 44.1 .87 1.18
Professional and personal care services .11 .04 10.1 4.4 1.05 .97
Caring for and helping household members... .57 .45 27.0 22.0 2.09 2.06
Caring for and helping household
children............................... .43 .39 23.0 19.0 1.88 2.05
Caring for and helping nonhousehold members .18 .24 12.2 14.1 1.50 1.69
Caring for and helping nonhousehold
adults................................. .06 .10 7.3 9.7 .78 1.02
Working and work-related activities........ 4.81 1.47 57.4 25.1 8.38 5.84
Working................................. 4.39 1.31 55.5 23.3 7.91 5.60
Educational activities..................... .53 .18 8.8 5.6 6.01 3.23
Attending class......................... .36 .02 6.9 .5 5.18 (4)
Homework and research................... .13 .15 5.5 5.1 2.35 3.01
Organizational, civic, and religious
activities................................ .26 .55 12.1 20.1 2.18 2.76
Religious and spiritual activities...... .07 .32 5.9 15.9 1.25 2.01
Volunteering (organizational and civic
activities)............................ .16 .16 7.2 6.9 2.16 2.38
Leisure and sports......................... 4.57 6.37 95.4 96.8 4.79 6.58
Socializing and communicating........... .55 1.13 35.9 44.3 1.54 2.55
Watching television..................... 2.43 3.07 79.3 79.7 3.07 3.85
Participating in sports, exercise, and
recreation............................. .28 .41 18.4 18.7 1.50 2.20
Telephone calls, mail, and e-mail.......... .19 .16 26.1 20.3 .74 .81
Other activities, not elsewhere classified .19 .20 14.3 13.7 1.36 1.49
1 A primary activity refers to an individual's main activity. Other activities done simultaneously
are not included.
2 Holidays are New Year’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day,
and Christmas Day. Data were not collected about New Year’s Day in 2007.
3 All major activity categories include related travel time. See Technical Note for activity category
definitions.
4 Data not shown where base is less than 1.2 million.
- Not applicable.
NOTE: Data refer to persons 15 years and over.
Table 3. Time spent in primary activities (1) for the civilian population by age, sex, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity,
marital status, and educational attainment, 2007 annual averages
Average hours per day spent in primary activities (2)
Orga- Other
Pur- Caring Caring Working niza- Tele- activi-
Characteristic Person- Eating House- chas- for and for and and Educa- tional, phone ties,
al care and hold ing helping helping work- tional civic, Leisure calls, not
activi- drink- activi- goods house- non- related activi- and and mail, else-
ties ing ties and hold house- activi- ties reli- sports and where
ser- members hold ties gious e-mail classi-
vices members activi- fied
ties
Total, 15 years and over...... 9.33 1.24 1.84 0.78 0.53 0.20 3.81 0.43 0.35 5.11 0.19 0.20
15 to 19 years.............. 10.27 .98 .68 .53 .11 .19 1.65 3.05 .30 5.71 .36 .17
20 to 24 years.............. 9.54 1.18 1.09 .76 .39 .19 4.50 .88 .23 4.90 .12 .22
25 to 34 years.............. 9.28 1.19 1.58 .74 1.12 .14 4.98 .19 .25 4.23 .14 .16
35 to 44 years.............. 9.06 1.17 1.89 .75 1.07 .16 4.95 .12 .29 4.23 .12 .18
45 to 54 years.............. 9.03 1.21 2.07 .81 .37 .18 4.97 .08 .35 4.59 .15 .18
55 to 64 years.............. 9.04 1.30 2.38 .96 .16 .32 3.63 .03 .45 5.34 .20 .18
65 to 74 years.............. 9.47 1.50 2.42 .89 .13 .28 1.34 .05 .52 6.83 .27 .31
75 years and over........... 9.85 1.53 2.39 .78 .08 .19 .26 .00 .58 7.79 .29 .26
Men, 15 years and over....... 9.14 1.27 1.43 .63 .33 .17 4.52 .41 .28 5.48 .13 .20
15 to 19 years.............. 10.00 .97 .55 .42 .06 .18 1.79 3.09 .24 6.20 .31 .18
20 to 24 years.............. 9.34 1.15 1.01 .66 .16 .22 4.79 .65 .16 5.51 .08 .28
25 to 34 years.............. 9.04 1.22 1.25 .58 .57 .13 6.00 .12 .22 4.63 .09 .16
35 to 44 years.............. 8.85 1.20 1.33 .61 .67 .18 5.93 .08 .26 4.65 .08 .17
45 to 54 years.............. 8.83 1.29 1.60 .67 .31 .17 5.66 .08 .29 4.85 .08 .17
55 to 64 years.............. 8.99 1.34 2.01 .68 .14 .20 4.13 .04 .39 5.76 .14 .18
65 to 74 years.............. 9.16 1.57 1.94 .80 .08 .15 1.93 .03 .39 7.41 .18 .37
75 years and over........... 9.89 1.68 1.83 .73 .08 .13 .47 .00 .42 8.28 .21 .29
Women, 15 years and over..... 9.51 1.20 2.22 .92 .72 .23 3.14 .44 .41 4.76 .24 .19
15 to 19 years.............. 10.55 1.00 .81 .64 .15 .20 1.50 3.01 .36 5.20 .41 .17
20 to 24 years.............. 9.75 1.20 1.19 .86 .62 .16 4.21 1.10 .29 4.28 .17 .16
25 to 34 years.............. 9.52 1.16 1.92 .90 1.68 .16 3.95 .27 .27 3.83 .18 .15
35 to 44 years.............. 9.26 1.14 2.43 .89 1.46 .14 4.01 .15 .33 3.83 .16 .19
45 to 54 years.............. 9.23 1.13 2.52 .95 .43 .19 4.30 .08 .41 4.34 .22 .20
55 to 64 years.............. 9.09 1.26 2.74 1.21 .18 .44 3.17 .02 .50 4.94 .26 .18
65 to 74 years.............. 9.73 1.45 2.82 .97 .17 .38 .84 .06 .63 6.34 .34 .25
75 years and over........... 9.83 1.43 2.76 .81 .08 .23 .13 .00 .68 7.48 .34 .25
White, 15 years and over..... 9.25 1.28 1.93 .79 .53 .20 3.84 .40 .33 5.06 .18 .20
Men......................... 9.07 1.33 1.50 .65 .33 .17 4.61 .38 .26 5.37 .11 .20
Women....................... 9.42 1.24 2.34 .92 .71 .23 3.10 .42 .40 4.77 .24 .19
Black or African American,
15 years and over........... 9.72 .87 1.33 .78 .48 .22 3.53 .42 .47 5.74 .25 .19
Men......................... 9.34 .84 1.07 .59 .25 .22 3.84 .37 .45 6.57 .22 .22
Women....................... 10.04 .90 1.54 .94 .67 .22 3.27 .46 .48 5.05 .27 .17
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity,
15 years and over........... 9.65 1.13 1.88 .70 .58 .11 4.17 .53 .31 4.66 .12 .15
Men......................... 9.46 1.13 1.21 .57 .30 .10 5.18 .58 .20 5.04 .10 .12
Women....................... 9.85 1.14 2.59 .84 .89 .12 3.10 .47 .43 4.25 .13 .18
Marital status and sex:
Married, spouse present...... 9.08 1.33 2.16 .84 .77 .18 4.04 .10 .39 4.77 .15 .19
Men......................... 8.88 1.38 1.59 .67 .51 .15 5.02 .08 .35 5.08 .09 .20
Women....................... 9.27 1.28 2.71 1.01 1.02 .22 3.09 .12 .44 4.46 .20 .19
Other marital statuses....... 9.63 1.13 1.47 .72 .25 .22 3.53 .82 .30 5.51 .23 .20
Men......................... 9.45 1.14 1.24 .59 .11 .19 3.91 .81 .20 5.98 .17 .22
Women....................... 9.79 1.12 1.67 .83 .38 .24 3.20 .82 .39 5.09 .29 .19
Educational attainment,
25 years and over:
Less than a high school
diploma..................... 9.89 1.11 2.10 .57 .46 .20 2.90 .05 .36 6.11 .08 .18
High school graduates, no
college (3)................. 9.20 1.19 2.24 .79 .45 .26 3.61 .05 .33 5.52 .16 .20
Some college or associate
degree...................... 9.17 1.28 2.07 .91 .64 .21 4.07 .13 .34 4.79 .18 .20
Bachelor's degree and
higher (4).................. 8.95 1.41 1.79 .86 .76 .14 4.72 .12 .44 4.38 .22 .20
1 A primary activity refers to an individual's main activity. Other activities done simultaneously are not included.
2 All major activity categories include related travel time. See Technical Note for activity category definitions.
3 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.
4 Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees.
NOTE: Unless otherwise specified, data refer to persons 15 years and over. Persons of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity may
be of any race.
Table 4. Employed persons working and time spent working on days worked by full- and part-time status and sex,
jobholding status, educational attainment, and day of week, 2007 annual averages
(Numbers in thousands)
Employed persons who Employed persons who Employed persons who
worked on an average worked on an average worked on an average
day weekday Saturday, Sunday, and
Total holiday (1)
Characteristic employ-
ed
Percent Average Percent Average Percent Average
Number of hours Number of hours Number of hours
employ- of (3) employ- of (4) employ- of
ed work(2) ed work(2) ed work(2)
Full- and part-time status and sex
Total, 15 years and over (5)............ 155,502 108,042 69.5 7.57 129,650 83.4 7.93 56,002 36.0 5.61
Full-time workers.................... 121,444 89,049 73.3 8.05 107,121 88.2 8.45 45,490 37.5 5.76
Part-time workers.................... 34,058 18,993 55.8 5.36 22,522 66.1 5.43 10,517 30.9 5.00
Men (5)................................ 83,012 59,279 71.4 7.89 70,659 85.1 8.27 32,017 38.6 5.84
Full-time workers.................... 71,243 52,917 74.3 8.21 63,190 88.7 8.65 28,447 39.9 5.90
Part-time workers.................... 11,770 6,362 54.1 5.19 7,499 63.7 5.16 3,542 30.1 5.35
Women (5).............................. 72,490 48,763 67.3 7.20 58,996 81.4 7.51 23,968 33.1 5.31
Full-time workers.................... 50,201 36,133 72.0 7.81 43,934 87.5 8.17 17,007 33.9 5.51
Part-time workers.................... 22,288 12,631 56.7 5.44 15,028 67.4 5.57 6,972 31.3 4.83
Jobholding status
Single jobholders....................... 140,447 95,901 68.3 7.47 116,323 82.8 7.80 46,666 33.2 5.48
Multiple jobholders..................... 15,055 12,141 80.6 8.43 13,329 88.5 9.06 9,307 61.8 6.28
Educational attainment, 25 years
and over
Less than a high school diploma......... 11,503 8,073 70.2 7.88 9,794 85.1 8.05 3,861 33.6 6.82
High school graduates, no college (6)... 38,947 26,457 67.9 7.87 32,792 84.2 8.07 11,334 29.1 6.44
Some college or associate degree........ 34,697 23,596 68.0 7.67 28,136 81.1 7.97 11,883 34.2 5.88
Bachelor's degree and higher (7)........ 45,418 33,834 74.5 7.47 40,525 89.2 8.07 18,117 39.9 4.31
1 Holidays are New Year’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas
Day. Data were not collected about New Year’s Day in 2007.
2 Includes work at main and other job(s), and excludes travel related to work.
3 Number was derived by multiplying the "Total employed" by the percent of employed persons who worked on an average
weekday.
4 Number was derived by multiplying the "Total employed" by the percent of employed persons who worked on an average
Saturday, Sunday, and holiday.
5 Includes workers whose hours vary.
6 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.
7 Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees.
NOTE: Unless otherwise specified, data refer to persons 15 years and over.
Table 5. Employed persons working on main job and time spent working on days worked by class of worker, occupation, earnings, and day of
week, 2007 annual averages
(Numbers in thousands)
Employed persons who worked Employed persons who worked Employed persons who worked
on an average day on an average weekday on an average Saturday,
Sunday, and holiday (1)
Characteristic Total
employed
Percent Average Percent Average Percent Average
Number of hours of Number of hours of Number of hours of
employed work (2) (3) employed work (2) (4) employed work (2)
Class of worker (main job only)
Wage and salary workers................... 144,264 99,246 68.8 7.51 120,343 83.4 7.84 47,967 33.2 5.55
Self-employed workers..................... 11,137 7,347 66.0 6.68 8,592 77.2 7.00 4,657 41.8 5.37
Occupation (main job only)
Management, business, and financial
operations............................... 24,976 18,872 75.6 7.66 22,639 90.6 8.26 9,177 36.7 3.79
Professional and related.................. 30,116 20,675 68.7 7.27 25,342 84.1 7.70 9,895 32.9 4.71
Services.................................. 25,576 16,326 63.8 6.92 18,916 74.0 7.07 10,589 41.4 6.29
Sales and related......................... 17,469 12,873 73.7 7.15 14,799 84.7 7.47 8,343 47.8 5.81
Office and administrative support......... 21,325 13,580 63.7 7.34 16,858 79.1 7.50 4,835 22.7 5.80
Farming, fishing, and forestry............ (6) (6) (6) (6) (6) (6) (6) (6) (6) (6)
Construction and extraction............... 8,755 6,011 68.7 7.99 7,403 84.6 8.12 2,394 27.3 (6)
Installation, maintenance, and repair..... 5,759 3,994 69.3 8.11 5,167 89.7 8.43 1,479 25.7 (6)
Production................................ 9,928 6,607 66.5 8.32 8,439 85.0 8.41 1,950 19.6 (6)
Transportation and material moving........ 10,416 6,693 64.3 7.81 8,225 79.0 7.97 3,265 31.3 6.89
Earnings of full-time wage and salary
workers (main job only) (5)
0 - $480.................................. 28,618 20,904 73.0 7.74 24,868 86.9 7.92 11,093 38.8 6.70
$481 - $730............................... 26,778 18,719 69.9 7.97 23,268 86.9 8.18 6,690 25.0 6.10
$731 - $1,150............................. 27,639 19,286 69.8 8.07 24,118 87.3 8.31 7,920 28.7 6.37
$1,151 and higher......................... 27,432 20,313 74.0 7.94 24,393 88.9 8.69 10,927 39.8 4.10
1 Holidays are New Year’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Data were not
collected about New Year’s Day in 2007.
2 Includes work at main job only and excludes travel related to work.
3 Number was derived by multiplying the "Total employed" by the percent of employed persons who worked on an average weekday.
4 Number was derived by multiplying the "Total employed" by the percent of employed persons who worked on an average Saturday, Sunday, and
holiday.
5 These values are based on usual weekly earnings. Each earnings range represents approximately 25 percent of full-time wage and salary
workers.
6 Data not shown where base is less than 1.2 million.
NOTE: Data refer to persons 15 years and over.
Table 6. Employed persons working (1) at home and at their workplace and time spent working at each location by full-
and part-time status and sex, jobholding status, and educational attainment, 2007 annual averages
(Numbers in thousands)
Employed persons who Employed persons who Employed persons who
worked on an average worked at their worked at home on an
day workplace on an average average day (2) (3)
day (2)
Total
Characteristic employ-
ed Percent Average Percent
Percent Average of hours of Average
Number of hours Number those of work Number those hours
employ- of work who at who of work
ed worked work- worked at home
place
Full- and part-time status and sex
Total, 15 years and over (4)............ 155,502 108,042 69.5 7.57 93,450 86.5 7.86 21,465 19.9 2.82
Full-time workers.................... 121,444 89,049 73.3 8.05 78,476 88.1 8.24 17,131 19.2 2.92
Part-time workers.................... 34,058 18,993 55.8 5.36 14,974 78.8 5.88 4,334 22.8 2.40
Men (4)................................ 83,012 59,279 71.4 7.89 51,700 87.2 8.11 11,782 19.9 2.83
Full-time workers.................... 71,243 52,917 74.3 8.21 46,815 88.5 8.35 10,397 19.6 2.90
Part-time workers.................... 11,770 6,362 54.1 5.19 4,884 76.8 5.79 1,385 21.8 2.27
Women (4).............................. 72,490 48,763 67.3 7.20 41,750 85.6 7.55 9,683 19.9 2.80
Full-time workers.................... 50,201 36,133 72.0 7.81 31,660 87.6 8.07 6,734 18.6 2.96
Part-time workers.................... 22,288 12,631 56.7 5.44 10,090 79.9 5.93 2,949 23.3 2.46
Jobholding status
Single jobholders....................... 140,447 95,901 68.3 7.47 83,252 86.8 7.77 17,663 18.4 2.85
Multiple jobholders..................... 15,055 12,141 80.6 8.43 10,197 84.0 8.56 3,801 31.3 2.66
Educational attainment, 25 years
and over
Less than a high school diploma......... 11,503 8,073 70.2 7.88 7,478 92.6 7.92 500 6.2 (7)
High school graduates, no college (5)... 38,947 26,457 67.9 7.87 23,966 90.6 8.01 3,398 12.8 2.91
Some college or associate degree........ 34,697 23,596 68.0 7.67 20,443 86.6 7.97 4,660 19.7 2.78
Bachelor's degree and higher (6)........ 45,418 33,834 74.5 7.47 26,645 78.8 7.94 11,670 34.5 2.77
1 Includes work at main and other job(s) and at locations other than home or workplace. Excludes travel related to
work.
2 Individuals may have worked at more than one location.
3 "Working at home" includes any time persons did work at home and it is not restricted to persons whose usual
workplace is their home.
4 Includes workers whose hours vary.
5 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.
6 Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees.
7 Data not shown where base is less than 1.2 million.
NOTE: Data refer to persons 15 years and over.
Table 7. Employed persons working on main job (1) at home and at their workplace and time spent working at each location by class of worker,
occupation, and earnings, 2007 annual averages
(Numbers in thousands)
Employed persons who worked Employed persons who worked Employed persons who worked
on an average day at their workplace on an at home on an average
average day (2) day(2) (3)
Total
Characteristic employed
Percent Average Percent Average Percent Average
Number of hours of Number of those hours of Number of those hours of
employed work who work at who work at
worked workplace worked home
Class of worker (main job only)
Wage and salary workers................... 144,264 99,246 68.8 7.51 88,325 89.0 7.78 15,854 16.0 2.55
Self-employed workers..................... 11,137 7,347 66.0 6.68 4,149 56.5 7.40 4,003 54.5 3.98
Occupation (main job only)
Management, business, and financial
operations............................... 24,976 18,872 75.6 7.66 14,762 78.2 8.03 6,096 32.3 3.26
Professional and related.................. 30,116 20,675 68.7 7.27 16,677 80.7 7.78 6,324 30.6 2.65
Services.................................. 25,576 16,326 63.8 6.92 14,407 88.2 7.14 1,852 11.3 3.21
Sales and related......................... 17,469 12,873 73.7 7.15 11,107 86.3 7.48 2,669 20.7 2.63
Office and administrative support......... 21,325 13,580 63.7 7.34 12,506 92.1 7.71 1,063 7.8 (5)
Farming, fishing, and forestry............ (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5)
Construction and extraction............... 8,755 6,011 68.7 7.99 5,551 92.4 8.24 640 10.6 (5)
Installation, maintenance, and repair..... 5,759 3,994 69.3 8.11 3,814 95.5 8.11 293 7.3 (5)
Production................................ 9,928 6,607 66.5 8.32 6,468 97.9 8.34 265 4.0 (5)
Transportation and material moving........ 10,416 6,693 64.3 7.81 6,422 95.9 7.67 404 6.0 (5)
Earnings of full-time wage and salary
workers (main job only) (4)
0 - $480.................................. 28,618 20,904 73.0 7.74 19,806 94.7 7.83 1,252 6.0 (5)
$481 - $730............................... 26,778 18,719 69.9 7.97 17,674 94.4 8.16 1,274 6.8 1.68
$731 - $1,150............................. 27,639 19,286 69.8 8.07 17,655 91.5 8.31 3,082 16.0 2.01
$1,151 and higher......................... 27,432 20,313 74.0 7.94 16,847 82.9 8.40 6,111 30.1 2.47
1 Includes work at main job only and at locations other than home or workplace. Excludes travel related to work.
2 Individuals may have worked at more than one location.
3 "Working at home" includes any time persons did work at home and it is not restricted to persons whose usual workplace is their home.
4 These values are based on usual weekly earnings. Each earnings range represents approximately 25 percent of full-time wage and salary
workers.
5 Data not shown where base is less than 1.2 million.
NOTE: Data refer to persons 15 years and over.
Table 8. Time spent in primary activities (1) for the civilian population 18 years and over by
employment status, presence and age of youngest household child, and sex, 2007 annual averages
Total
Average hours per day spent in primary activities
Activity Youngest household Youngest household No household
child under 6 child 6-17 children under 18
Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women
Total, all activities (2)................. 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00
Personal care activities................ 9.11 8.74 9.42 9.22 8.93 9.47 9.33 9.19 9.46
Sleeping............................. 8.47 8.19 8.69 8.46 8.31 8.59 8.55 8.56 8.53
Eating and drinking..................... 1.16 1.21 1.13 1.12 1.17 1.07 1.32 1.35 1.30
Household activities.................... 1.84 1.26 2.33 1.93 1.39 2.41 1.93 1.59 2.27
Housework............................ .70 .33 1.02 .67 .26 1.03 .65 .30 .99
Food preparation and cleanup......... .68 .32 .97 .61 .28 .89 .48 .29 .68
Lawn and garden care................. .13 .17 .08 .19 .30 .09 .26 .36 .15
Household management................. .11 .10 .11 .13 .09 .16 .16 .15 .17
Purchasing goods and services........... .81 .68 .91 .76 .59 .91 .81 .66 .96
Consumer goods purchases............. .44 .36 .51 .38 .28 .48 .40 .31 .48
Professional and personal care
services............................ .07 .05 .09 .08 .04 .12 .10 .06 .13
Caring for and helping household
members................................ 2.04 1.25 2.69 .76 .50 .98 .07 .06 .08
Caring for and helping household
children............................ 1.83 1.12 2.42 .57 .37 .76 - - -
Caring for and helping nonhousehold
members................................ .10 .11 .10 .19 .18 .20 .24 .18 .29
Caring for and helping nonhousehold
adults.............................. .05 .05 .04 .08 .10 .06 .08 .06 .09
Working and work-related activities..... 4.37 6.01 3.00 4.64 5.70 3.69 3.67 4.13 3.22
Working.............................. 3.99 5.46 2.76 4.22 5.14 3.40 3.35 3.74 2.97
Educational activities.................. .15 .10 .20 .28 .30 .27 .22 .19 .25
Attending class...................... .08 .05 .11 .15 .19 .12 .09 .08 .10
Homework and research................ .06 .04 .07 .11 .08 .13 .11 .09 .13
Organizational, civic, and religious
activities............................. .28 .31 .26 .37 .28 .45 .37 .28 .46
Religious and spiritual activities .. .12 .11 .13 .15 .12 .18 .16 .11 .20
Volunteering (organizational and
civic activities)................... .12 .16 .09 .17 .13 .21 .16 .13 .20
Leisure and sports...................... 3.83 4.08 3.62 4.42 4.70 4.17 5.63 6.01 5.25
Socializing and communicating........ .67 .63 .70 .70 .61 .78 .73 .69 .78
Watching television.................. 2.01 2.17 1.88 2.32 2.48 2.17 2.95 3.26 2.65
Participating in sports, exercise,
and recreation...................... .25 .31 .21 .27 .39 .16 .30 .39 .21
Telephone calls, mail, and e-mail....... .11 .06 .15 .13 .08 .17 .20 .14 .26
Other activities, not elsewhere
classified............................. .19 .18 .19 .18 .17 .19 .21 .23 .19
Employed
Total, all activities (2)................. 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00
Personal care activities................ 8.94 8.72 9.21 9.00 8.71 9.31 9.00 8.86 9.17
Sleeping............................. 8.27 8.17 8.40 8.23 8.11 8.37 8.22 8.21 8.22
Eating and drinking..................... 1.15 1.21 1.07 1.13 1.20 1.06 1.28 1.31 1.24
Household activities.................... 1.47 1.21 1.81 1.68 1.32 2.06 1.63 1.44 1.86
Housework............................ .52 .31 .79 .54 .24 .85 .54 .29 .82
Food preparation and cleanup......... .48 .30 .72 .49 .26 .73 .38 .26 .51
Lawn and garden care................. .13 .18 .06 .18 .26 .08 .19 .27 .11
Household management................. .10 .11 .09 .12 .09 .15 .13 .13 .14
Purchasing goods and services........... .72 .65 .83 .74 .60 .90 .76 .60 .93
Consumer goods purchases............. .38 .34 .43 .38 .29 .48 .38 .30 .49
Professional and personal care
services............................ .06 .04 .09 .07 .03 .11 .07 .05 .09
Caring for and helping household
members................................ 1.71 1.21 2.36 .69 .51 .89 .05 .05 .06
Caring for and helping household
children............................ 1.52 1.09 2.07 .52 .36 .67 - - -
Caring for and helping nonhousehold
members................................ .10 .11 .09 .15 .14 .15 .20 .16 .24
Caring for and helping nonhousehold
adults.............................. .04 .05 .02 .06 .07 .05 .06 .05 .06
Working and work-related activities..... 5.78 6.46 4.92 5.84 6.63 5.02 5.81 6.05 5.54
Working.............................. 5.31 5.88 4.58 5.36 6.03 4.65 5.36 5.55 5.14
Educational activities.................. .13 .08 .18 .21 .22 .20 .20 .17 .25
Attending class...................... .07 .05 .09 .10 .13 .06 .10 .09 .10
Homework and research................ .05 .03 .07 .09 .07 .12 .09 .06 .12
Organizational, civic, and religious
activities............................. .25 .29 .20 .32 .27 .38 .29 .25 .35
Religious and spiritual activities .. .11 .11 .11 .14 .11 .18 .12 .09 .16
Volunteering (organizational and
civic activities)................... .11 .14 .07 .14 .13 .15 .13 .12 . 15
Leisure and sports...................... 3.51 3.84 3.10 3.96 4.20 3.72 4.42 4.80 3.99
Socializing and communicating........ .63 .62 .64 .63 .56 .72 .63 .59 .68
Watching television.................. 1.79 2.00 1.53 2.03 2.20 1.85 2.28 2.56 1.96
Participating in sports, exercise,
and recreation...................... .25 .31 .17 .26 .36 .16 .28 .37 .18
Telephone calls, mail, and e-mail....... .07 .05 .10 .11 .06 .16 .16 .11 .22
Other activities, not elsewhere
classified............................. .16 .16 .15 .16 .16 .16 .19 .20 .17
Not employed
Total, all activities (2)................. 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00
Personal care activities................ 9.63 9.04 9.72 10.01 10.21 9.92 9.87 9.87 9.87
Sleeping............................. 9.06 8.53 9.14 9.30 9.53 9.19 9.10 9.29 8.96
Eating and drinking..................... 1.22 1.22 1.22 1.07 1.01 1.11 1.40 1.43 1.38
Household activities.................... 2.95 1.83 3.12 2.85 1.79 3.37 2.44 1.90 2.84
Housework............................ 1.26 .59 1.36 1.15 .38 1.52 .84 .32 1.24
Food preparation and cleanup......... 1.26 .59 1.36 1.04 .40 1.35 .66 .35 .90
Lawn and garden care................. .12 .11 .12 .23 .49 .10 .36 .54 .22
Household management................. .12 .03 .13 .17 .10 .20 .21 .19 .22
Purchasing goods and services........... 1.06 1.19 1.05 .83 .59 .94 .90 .77 1.01
Consumer goods purchases............. .61 .58 .61 .40 .24 .47 .42 .35 .48
Professional and personal care
services............................ .09 .19 .08 .12 .08 .15 .14 .09 .18
Caring for and helping household
members................................ 3.01 1.80 3.19 .99 .50 1.23 .09 .09 .10
Caring for and helping household
children............................ 2.75 1.48 2.94 .78 .39 .98 - - -
Caring for and helping nonhousehold
members................................ .12 .09 .13 .34 .40 .31 .30 .23 .35
Caring for and helping nonhousehold
adults.............................. .07 .02 .08 .14 .29 .06 .11 .08 .13
Working and work-related activities (3). .10 .24 .08 .18 .34 .11 .12 .21 .05
Working (3).......................... .00 .00 .00 .01 .00 .01 .02 .03 .01
Educational activities.................. .24 .26 .23 .58 .76 .49 .25 .22 .26
Attending class...................... .11 .03 .13 .34 .52 .26 .08 .06 .10
Homework and research................ .10 .23 .08 .16 .13 .18 .15 .15 .16
Organizational, civic, and religious
activities............................. .38 .51 .36 .55 .37 .63 .49 .34 .61
Religious and spiritual activities .. .16 .09 .18 .17 .15 .18 .21 .15 .26
Volunteering (organizational and
civic activities)................... .16 .37 .13 .31 .17 .37 .22 .15 .27
Leisure and sports...................... 4.79 7.22 4.42 6.13 7.63 5.40 7.63 8.49 6.97
Socializing and communicating........ .79 .77 .80 .96 .95 .96 .90 .88 .92
Watching television.................. 2.66 4.31 2.41 3.39 4.09 3.04 4.07 4.70 3.58
Participating in sports, exercise,
and recreation...................... .27 .23 .27 .30 .57 .17 .33 .43 .25
Telephone calls, mail, and e-mail....... .23 .22 .23 .20 .17 .21 .26 .18 .33
Other activities, not elsewhere
classified............................. .27 .38 .25 .27 .23 .28 .25 .27 .23
1 A primary activity refers to an individual's main activity. Other activities done simultaneously
are not included.
2 All major activity categories include related travel time. See Technical Note for activity
category definitions.
3 Estimates include a small amount of work time done by persons who do not meet the ATUS definition
for employed.
- Not applicable.
Table 9. Time spent caring for household children under 18 by sex of adult (1) and age of youngest child by day of week, average for the combined years 2003-07
Average hours per day spent caring for household children
Childcare activities Total Weekdays Weekends and holidays (2)
Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women
Persons in households with children under 18, total:
Caring for household children as a primary activity...... 1.31 0.81 1.74 1.40 0.79 1.92 1.11 0.87 1.32
Physical care........................................... .45 .22 .64 .47 .22 .69 .40 .24 .53
Education-related activities............................ .10 .06 .13 .13 .07 .17 .04 .02 .04
Reading to/with children................................ .04 .02 .05 .04 .02 .05 .03 .02 .04
Talking to/with children................................ .05 .03 .07 .06 .03 .09 .04 .02 .05
Playing/doing hobbies with children..................... .26 .22 .29 .25 .19 .29 .30 .30 .29
Looking after children.................................. .07 .06 .09 .07 .05 .09 .09 .07 .09
Attending children's events............................. .06 .05 .06 .05 .04 .06 .08 .07 .09
Travel related to care of household children............ .17 .10 .23 .20 .12 .28 .09 .07 .10
Other childcare activities.............................. .11 .06 .17 .14 .06 .20 .06 .05 .07
Persons in households with youngest child 6 to 17 years:
Caring for household children as a primary activity.... .77 .49 1.01 .85 .51 1.15 .57 .44 .68
Physical care......................................... .15 .07 .22 .17 .08 .26 .10 .06 .14
Education-related activities.......................... .11 .07 .15 .14 .08 .19 .05 .03 .06
Reading to/with children.............................. .02 .01 .02 .02 .01 .02 .02 .01 .03
Talking to/with children.............................. .07 .03 .10 .08 .04 .11 .05 .03 .07
Playing/doing hobbies with children................... .06 .07 .05 .05 .06 .04 .08 .08 .07
Looking after children................................ .04 .03 .05 .04 .03 .05 .04 .03 .05
Attending children's events........................... .07 .06 .08 .06 .05 .07 .10 .09 .11
Travel related to care of household children.......... .16 .10 .21 .19 .12 .25 .09 .07 .10
Other childcare activities............................ .09 .05 .13 .11 .05 .16 .05 .04 .06
Persons in households with youngest child under 6:
Caring for household children as a primary activity.... 1.97 1.22 2.60 2.07 1.15 2.84 1.74 1.37 2.05
Physical care......................................... .81 .41 1.14 .84 .39 1.21 .74 .45 .98
Education-related activities.......................... .08 .05 .10 .10 .06 .14 .02 .01 .03
Reading to/with children.............................. .06 .04 .08 .07 .03 .09 .05 .04 .07
Talking to/with children.............................. .03 .02 .05 .04 .02 .06 .03 .02 .03
Playing/doing hobbies with children................... .51 .42 .58 .49 .36 .59 .55 .55 .55
Looking after children................................ .11 .09 .14 .11 .08 .13 .14 .12 .15
Attending children's events........................... .04 .03 .04 .03 .02 .04 .05 .04 .05
Travel related to care of household children.......... .18 .10 .25 .22 .12 .31 .08 .07 .10
Other childcare activities............................ .15 .07 .21 .17 .07 .26 .08 .06 .10
1 Persons 18 years and over living in households with children under 18, whether or not they provided childcare.
2 Holidays are New Year’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Data were not collected about
Christmas Day in 2003; Thanksgiving Day in 2003-05; and New Year’s Day in 2007.
Table 10. Time spent providing secondary childcare for household children under 13 by sex of adult (1) and age of youngest child by day of week, average for the
combined years 2003-07
Average hours per day spent caring for household children (3)
Childcare activities (2) Total Weekdays Weekends and holidays (4)
Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women
Persons in households with children under 13, total.............. 5.30 4.12 6.28 4.35 2.99 5.47 7.50 6.70 8.17
Caring for household children as a secondary activity in
conjunction with:
Personal care activities...................................... .28 .19 .35 .25 .17 .31 .34 .23 .43
Household activities.......................................... 1.26 .71 1.72 1.07 .49 1.56 1.69 1.21 2.10
Purchasing goods and services................................. .41 .27 .52 .32 .16 .44 .62 .51 .71
Working and work-related activities........................... .20 .16 .23 .22 .15 .27 .15 .18 .13
Eating and drinking........................................... .65 .56 .71 .53 .44 .62 .90 .85 .94
Leisure and sports............................................ 2.10 1.94 2.22 1.64 1.40 1.85 3.14 3.18 3.11
Other activities.............................................. .42 .29 .52 .31 .17 .42 .66 .55 .75
Persons in households with youngest child 6 to 12, total...... 4.86 3.90 5.65 3.76 2.73 4.61 7.41 6.61 8.08
Caring for household children as a secondary activity in
conjunction with:
Personal care activities.................................... .27 .19 .33 .23 .17 .29 .34 .23 .44
Household activities........................................ 1.13 .70 1.48 .87 .45 1.22 1.73 1.29 2.10
Purchasing goods and services............................... .31 .20 .40 .22 .11 .32 .51 .40 .60
Working and work-related activities......................... .21 .17 .24 .22 .16 .27 .17 .20 .15
Eating and drinking......................................... .56 .49 .61 .44 .38 .50 .81 .77 .85
Leisure and sports.......................................... 1.98 1.85 2.09 1.49 1.30 1.65 3.13 3.13 3.13
Other activities............................................ .41 .30 .49 .28 .18 .36 .71 .59 .81
Persons in households with youngest child under 6, total...... 5.62 4.27 6.74 4.77 3.18 6.09 7.56 6.77 8.23
Caring for household children as a secondary activity in
conjunction with:
Personal care activities.................................... .29 .20 .36 .26 .18 .33 .34 .23 .42
Household activities........................................ 1.35 .71 1.89 1.22 .52 1.80 1.67 1.15 2.10
Purchasing goods and services............................... .48 .32 .61 .38 .20 .53 .69 .59 .78
Working and work-related activities......................... .19 .15 .22 .21 .14 .27 .14 .16 .12
Eating and drinking......................................... .71 .61 .79 .60 .48 .70 .96 .91 1.01
Leisure and sports.......................................... 2.18 2.01 2.32 1.75 1.48 1.99 3.15 3.21 3.09
Other activities............................................ .42 .28 .54 .34 .17 .47 .62 .52 .71
1 Persons 18 years and over living in households with children under 13, whether or not they provided childcare.
2 All major activity categories include related travel time. See Technical Note for activity category definitions.
3 Secondary childcare time is defined as time one has a child under 13 "in his or her care" while doing something else as a main activity; information on
secondary childcare is not collected for children over 12 years. Estimates include a small amount of care provided to own, nonhousehold children.
4 Holidays are New Year’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Data were not collected about
Christmas Day in 2003; Thanksgiving Day in 2003-05; and New Year’s Day in 2007.
Table 11. Time spent in leisure and sports activities for the civilian population by selected characteristics, 2007 annual
averages
Average hours per day spent in leisure and sports activities
Partici- Other
pating in Playing leisure
Total, all sports, Socializ- games and and
leisure and exercise, ing and Watching Reading Relaxing/ computer sports
sports and communi- TV thinking use for activi-
activities recre- cating leisure ties,
ation including
Characteristic travel (1)
Week- Week- Week Week- Week- Week- Week- Week-
To- Week-ends Week-ends Week-ends Week-ends Week-ends Week-ends Week ends Week-ends
tal, days and days and days and days and days and days and days- and days and
all holi- holi- holi- holi- holi- holi- holi- holi-
days days days days days days days days days
(2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Sex
Men..................................... 5.48 4.85 6.96 0.36 0.55 0.50 1.04 2.63 3.46 0.26 0.33 0.30 0.38 0.40 0.43 0.38 0.76
Women................................... 4.76 4.32 5.80 .19 .27 .60 1.22 2.25 2.69 .41 .43 .25 .28 .24 .29 .37 .62
Age
Total, 15 years and over................ 5.11 4.57 6.37 .28 .41 .55 1.13 2.43 3.07 .34 .38 .28 .33 .32 .36 .38 .69
15 to 19 years....................... 5.71 5.21 6.84 .61 .85 .73 1.47 2.07 2.30 .09 .26 .15 .21 .78 .78 .77 .97
20 to 24 years....................... 4.90 4.14 6.49 .36 .69 .66 1.20 2.00 2.83 .14 .11 .22 .14 .46 .53 .31 .99
25 to 34 years....................... 4.23 3.59 5.72 .21 .38 .55 1.17 1.96 2.82 .11 .15 .15 .24 .27 .35 .35 .61
35 to 44 years....................... 4.23 3.69 5.54 .24 .35 .51 1.08 2.02 2.57 .18 .22 .19 .40 .23 .29 .31 .62
45 to 54 years....................... 4.59 3.93 6.14 .20 .35 .47 1.13 2.20 3.10 .29 .36 .27 .31 .19 .22 .30 .66
55 to 64 years....................... 5.34 4.81 6.61 .24 .30 .48 .89 2.65 3.53 .55 .53 .32 .37 .23 .26 .35 .71
65 to 74 years....................... 6.83 6.56 7.50 .33 .25 .61 1.18 3.68 3.88 .67 .85 .40 .43 .43 .32 .44 .59
75 years and over.................... 7.79 7.69 8.04 .22 .27 .62 1.00 4.27 4.31 1.12 1.09 .81 .59 .26 .34 .39 .43
Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
White................................... 5.06 4.50 6.38 .28 .43 .55 1.13 2.37 3.02 .36 .43 .26 .29 .31 .36 .38 .73
Black or African American............... 5.74 5.42 6.45 .27 .26 .66 1.08 3.11 3.62 .21 .19 .45 .59 .34 .24 .40 .48
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity............ 4.66 4.07 6.05 .21 .44 .54 1.22 2.52 2.94 .11 .10 .25 .27 .17 .32 .28 .75
Employment status
Employed................................ 4.17 3.52 5.74 .24 .39 .45 1.10 1.86 2.72 .22 .27 .19 .24 .23 .31 .33 .71
Full-time workers.................... 4.00 3.30 5.69 .22 .39 .41 1.05 1.78 2.76 .19 .26 .18 .24 .20 .29 .31 .71
Part-time workers.................... 4.79 4.33 5.91 .31 .40 .60 1.25 2.16 2.59 .30 .31 .23 .26 .31 .39 .43 .72
Not employed............................ 6.92 6.65 7.51 .35 .44 .75 1.19 3.57 3.70 .58 .59 .45 .48 .50 .44 .46 .66
Earnings of full-time wage and salary
workers (main job only) (3)
0 - $480................................ 4.02 3.39 5.59 .13 .25 .44 1.03 1.92 2.94 .10 .19 .22 .27 .27 .37 .30 .56
$481 - $730............................. 4.16 3.44 6.05 .24 .30 .43 1.13 1.80 3.15 .15 .21 .23 .29 .20 .27 .38 .70
$731 - $1,150........................... 3.97 3.30 5.55 .21 .38 .45 1.12 1.77 2.62 .23 .25 .13 .22 .21 .26 .30 .71
$1,151 and higher....................... 3.89 3.12 5.67 .26 .54 .34 .93 1.67 2.55 .27 .38 .14 .19 .15 .24 .29 .85
Presence and age of children
No household children under 18.......... 5.64 5.11 6.88 .28 .40 .58 1.12 2.72 3.38 .45 .50 .32 .37 .34 .38 .41 .72
Household children under 18............. 4.30 3.76 5.58 .26 .43 .52 1.14 1.99 2.58 .16 .20 .21 .26 .28 .32 .33 .64
Children 13 to 17 years, none younger. 4.79 4.19 6.29 .35 .63 .57 1.26 2.15 2.65 .21 .26 .20 .30 .40 .41 .31 .78
Children 6 to 12 years, none younger.. 4.49 3.97 5.75 .27 .32 .50 1.13 2.09 2.69 .18 .25 .22 .33 .30 .33 .41 .69
Youngest child under 6 years.......... 3.89 3.35 5.09 .21 .40 .51 1.09 1.82 2.48 .12 .13 .20 .19 .20 .25 .29 .54
Marital status and sex
Married, spouse present................. 4.77 4.26 5.97 .24 .37 .50 1.11 2.35 2.90 .37 .39 .27 .30 .22 .26 .32 .63
Men.................................. 5.08 4.51 6.44 .29 .47 .44 .99 2.62 3.34 .28 .41 .33 .33 .25 .27 .30 .63
Women................................ 4.46 4.03 5.50 .20 .27 .55 1.22 2.09 2.47 .45 .38 .21 .26 .19 .26 .33 .64
Other marital statuses.................. 5.51 4.94 6.83 .31 .46 .62 1.15 2.53 3.26 .30 .37 .29 .36 .43 .46 .45 .76
Men.................................. 5.98 5.27 7.58 .45 .65 .59 1.09 2.63 3.60 .24 .24 .27 .44 .59 .63 .49 .92
Women................................ 5.09 4.65 6.14 .19 .28 .66 1.21 2.44 2.94 .36 .50 .30 .29 .29 .31 .41 .61
Educational attainment, 25 years
and over
Less than a high school diploma......... 6.11 5.71 7.00 .12 .28 .64 1.08 3.74 4.05 .24 .20 .62 .69 .14 .20 .21 .50
High school graduates, no college (4)... 5.52 4.99 6.76 .20 .34 .55 1.12 2.94 3.57 .31 .39 .37 .45 .25 .29 .38 .58
Some college or associate degree........ 4.79 4.28 6.04 .24 .28 .54 1.07 2.27 3.13 .36 .42 .22 .25 .28 .28 .36 .62
Bachelor's degree and higher (5)........ 4.38 3.82 5.70 .31 .38 .44 1.05 1.77 2.43 .55 .57 .14 .22 .27 .33 .34 .73
1 Includes other leisure and sports activities, not elsewhere classified, and travel related to leisure and sports
activities.
2 Holidays are New Year’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
Data were not collected about New Year’s Day in 2007.
3 These values are based on usual weekly earnings. Each earnings range represents approximately 25 percent of full-time
wage and salary workers.
4 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.
5 Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees.
NOTE: Unless otherwise specified, data refer to persons 15 years and over. Persons of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity may
be of any race.
Table 12. Average hours per day spent in primary activities (1) for the civilian population, 2007 quarterly and
annual averages
(Not seasonally adjusted)
2007
Activity Quarterly averages
Annual
average
I II III IV
Total, all activities (2).................... 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00
Personal care activities................... 9.38 9.33 9.35 9.27 9.33
Sleeping................................ 8.62 8.57 8.61 8.49 8.57
Eating and drinking........................ 1.24 1.26 1.22 1.22 1.24
Household activities....................... 1.68 1.98 1.84 1.86 1.84
Housework............................... .64 .66 .60 .66 .64
Food preparation and cleanup............ .50 .51 .53 .54 .52
Lawn and garden care.................... .09 .32 .27 .15 .21
Household management.................... .14 .17 .12 .14 .14
Purchasing goods and services.............. .77 .77 .76 .82 .78
Consumer purchases...................... .37 .37 .38 .46 .39
Professional and personal care services .10 .09 .08 .07 .09
Caring for and helping household members... .58 .50 .50 .54 .53
Caring for and helping household
children............................... .45 .39 .41 .43 .42
Caring for and helping nonhousehold members .17 .19 .25 .19 .20
Caring for and helping nonhousehold
adults................................. .05 .06 .10 .06 .07
Working and work-related activities........ 3.95 3.78 3.60 3.91 3.81
Working................................. 3.60 3.44 3.28 3.56 3.47
Educational activities..................... .50 .40 .28 .53 .43
Attending class......................... .32 .23 .15 .32 .26
Homework and research................... .14 .12 .10 .18 .14
Organizational, civic, and religious
activities................................ .36 .36 .32 .36 .35
Religious and spiritual activities...... .13 .16 .16 .14 .15
Volunteering (organizational and civic
activities)............................. .19 .15 .13 .17 .16
Leisure and sports......................... 5.01 5.05 5.50 4.87 5.11
Socializing and communicating........... .64 .75 .83 .68 .73
Watching television..................... 2.76 2.52 2.60 2.61 2.62
Participating in sports, exercise, and
recreation............................. .24 .34 .43 .26 .32
Telephone calls, mail, and e-mail.......... .19 .17 .19 .19 .19
Other activities, not elsewhere classified .16 .20 .18 .24 .20
1 A primary activity refers to an individual's main activity. Other activities done simultaneously are not
included.
2 All major activity categories include related travel time. See Technical Note for activity category
definitions.
NOTE: Data refer to persons 15 years and over.
United States Department of Labor
