July 28, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Working on the weekend

Many more people work on weekdays than on weekend days.

Percent of employed persons who worked on an average weekday or weekend day, by full- and part-time status, age 15 and older, 2005 annual averages
[Chart data—TXT]

About 83 percent of employed persons worked on an average weekday in 2005, compared with 32 percent on an average weekend day.

Among full-time workers, about 88 percent worked on an average weekday, while among part-time workers, 63 percent worked on a given weekday. Full-time and part-time workers were equally likely to work on a given weekend day; in each group, 32 percent worked on an average weekend day in 2005.

The American Time Use Survey is the source of these data. Note that the figures about weekend days are for Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. You can find out more in American Time Use Survey — 2005 (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 06-1276.

Of interest

Spotlight on Statistics: The Recession of 2007–2009

The most recent recession in the United States began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009, though many of the statistics that describe the U.S. economy have yet to return to their pre-recession values. In this Spotlight, we present BLS data that compare the recent recession to previous recessions. Read more »