Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

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.

Https

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.

Economic News Release
PRINT:Print
ATUS ATUS Program Links

American Time Use Survey News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Thursday, June 23, 2022				USDL-22-1261

Technical information:	(202) 691-6339  *  atusinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/tus
Media contact:		(202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


			   AMERICAN TIME USE SURVEY -- 2021 RESULTS


In 2021, 38 percent of employed persons did some or all of their work at home on days they
worked, and 68 percent of employed persons did some or all of their work at their
workplace, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. 

These and other results from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) were released today. They
include the average amount of time per day in 2021 that individuals worked, did household
activities, and engaged in leisure and sports activities. Additionally, measures of the 
average time per day spent providing childcare--both as a primary (or main) activity and 
while doing other things are provided. For a detailed description of ATUS data and
methodology, see the Technical Note.

Working (by Employed Persons) in 2021

   --On days they worked, 38 percent of employed persons did some or all of their work at
     home and 68 percent of employed persons did some or all of their work at their 
     workplace. In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, workers were less likely to work 
     at home (24 percent) and more likely to work at their workplace (82 percent) on days
     they worked. (See table 6.)

   --On average, those who worked at their workplace did so for 7.8 hours on days they 
     worked, and those who worked at home did so for 5.6 hours. These averages include all
     times working at home, whether or not the work was done on a scheduled workday. 
     (See table 6.)

   --On days they worked, more than half of workers in management, business, and financial
     operations occupations and professional and related occupations did some or all of 
     their work at home (59 percent and 57 percent, respectively). Those employed in other
     occupations were less likely to work at home on days they worked. (See table 7.)

   --Among workers age 25 and over, those with an advanced degree were more likely to work
     at home than were persons with lower levels of educational attainment--67 percent of
     those with an advanced degree performed some work at home on days worked, compared 
     with 19 percent of those with a high school diploma and no college. Workers with an 
     advanced degree also were more likely to work on an average day than were those with
     a high school diploma and no college--74 percent, compared with 64 percent. 
     (See table 6.)

   --Employed women living with a child under age 6 worked an average of 4.5 hours per 
     day (about 31.5 hours per week). They performed 34 minutes per day less work for pay
     than employed women living in households with older children. (See table 8B.)

   --On days they worked, employed men worked 43 minutes 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 more per day than women--8.4 hours, compared with 7.8 hours. (See table 4.)

   --On days they worked, women were more likely than men to do some or all of their 
     work at home--42 percent of women, compared with 35 percent of men. (See table 6.)

Household Activities in 2021

   --On an average day, 86 percent of women and 71 percent of men spent some time doing
     household activities, such as housework, cooking, lawn care, or household management.
     (See table 1.)

   --On the days they did household activities, women spent an average of 2.7 hours on 
     these activities, while men spent 2.2 hours. (See table 1.)

   --On an average day, 21 percent of men did housework--such as cleaning or laundry--
     compared with 49 percent of women. (See table 1.)

   --On average, more people engaged in housework on weekend days than on weekdays: 40 
     percent compared with 34 percent. Food preparation and cleanup was the only household
     activity that more people engaged in on weekdays than on weekend days (63 percent 
     compared with 59 percent). (See table 2.)

Leisure and Sports Activities in 2021

   --On an average day, nearly everyone age 15 and over (96 percent) engaged in some sort
     of leisure and sport activity, such as watching TV, socializing, or exercising. Men
     spent more time in these activities than did women (5.6 hours, compared with 4.9 
     hours). (See table 1.)

   --On average, adults age 75 and over spent 7.7 hours engaged in leisure and sports 
     activities per day--more than any other age group; 35- to 44-year-olds spent 3.9 
     hours engaged in leisure and sports activities per day--less than other age groups.
     (See table 11A.) 

   --Watching TV was the leisure and sport activity that occupied the most time (2.9 
     hours per day), accounting for over half of all leisure time, on average. 
     (See table 11A.)

   --Socializing and communicating, such as visiting with friends or attending or 
     hosting social events, and playing games and computer use for leisure were the next
     most common leisure and sports activities after watching TV. On an average day, 
     individuals spent 34 minutes socializing and communicating and 34 minutes playing 
     games and using a computer for leisure. They spent twice as much time socializing on
     weekend days (53 minutes) as on weekdays (26 minutes), and 5 minutes more playing 
     games and using the computer for leisure on weekend days than on weekdays.
     (See tables 11A and 11B.)

   --Time spent reading for personal interest varied greatly by age. Individuals age 75
     and over averaged 41 minutes of reading per day, whereas individuals ages 15 to 44
     read on average for 10 minutes or less per day. (See table 11A.)

   --Men were slightly more likely than women to participate in sports, exercise, or 
     recreation on any given day--23 percent, compared with 20 percent. On days they
     participated, men also spent more time doing these activities than did women--1.7
     hours, compared with 1.2 hours. (See table 1.)

   --Employed adults living in households with no children under age 18 engaged in 
     leisure and sports activities for 4.6 hours per day, nearly an hour and a half more
     than did employed adults living with a child under age 6. (See table 8B.)

Care of Household Children in 2021

   --Adults living in households with children under age 6 spent an average of 2.2 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 about 
     one-third as much time providing primary childcare to household children--42 minutes
     per day. Primary childcare is childcare that is done as a main activity, such as
     providing physical care or reading to children. (See table 9.)

   --On an average day, among adults living in households with children under age 6,
     women spent 1.2 hours providing physical care (such as bathing or feeding a child)
     to household children; by contrast, men spent 31 minutes providing physical care.
     (See table 9.)

   --On average, among adults living with children under age 6, those who were not 
     employed spent nearly an hour more per day caring for and helping household children
     than did employed adults--2.7 hours versus 1.8 hours. (See tables 8B and 8C.)

   --Adults living in households with at least one child under age 13 spent an average
     of 5.5 hours per day providing secondary childcare--that is, they had at least one
     child in their care while doing activities other than primary childcare. Secondary
     childcare provided by adults living in households with children under age 13 was 
     most commonly provided while doing leisure activities (2.0 hours) or household 
     activities (1.4 hours). (See table 10.)

   --On an average day, among adults living in households where the youngest child was
     ages 6 to 12, women spent 2.4 hours more than men providing secondary childcare 
     (6.3 hours for women and 3.9 hours for men). In households with children under age
     6, women spent 1.8 hours more than men providing secondary childcare on an average
     day (6.6 hours for women and 4.8 hours for men). (See table 10.)

Additional Data 

ATUS 2021 data files are available for users to do their own tabulations and analyses.
In accordance with BLS and Census Bureau policies that protect the privacy of survey 
respondents, personally identifying information does not appear on the data files. The
2021 data files are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/tus/data.htm.




Technical Note 


   The estimates in this news release are based on annual average data from the American
Time Use Survey (ATUS). The ATUS, which is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is a continuous survey about how individuals age 15
and over spend their time.

   If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to
access telecommunications relay services. 

Survey methodology

   Data collection for the ATUS began in January 2003. Sample cases for the survey are 
selected monthly, and interviews are conducted continuously throughout the year. In 
2021, approximately 9,000 individuals were interviewed. Estimates are released 
annually.

   ATUS sample households are chosen from the households that completed 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 sampled household. This
"designated person" is interviewed by telephone once about his or her activities on
the day before the interview--the "diary day."

   All ATUS interviews are conducted using Computer Assisted Telephone 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. Interviews 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 before the interview until 4 a.m. on the
day of the interview. 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 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 
records the first activity mentioned. After completing the time diary, interviewers
ask respondents additional questions to clearly identify work, volunteering, eldercare,
and secondary childcare activities. Secondary childcare is defined as having a child 
under age 13 in one's care while doing other activities.

   In addition, the ATUS includes an update of the household composition from the last CPS
interview (2 to 5 months prior to the ATUS interview), the labor force status of the 
respondent, and the employment status of his or her spouse or unmarried partner. For 
respondents who became employed or changed jobs between the last CPS interview and the
ATUS interview, information also is collected on industry, occupation, class of worker,
and earnings. Finally, a question about current school enrollment status is asked of 
all respondents ages 15 to 49.

   After completing the interview, primary activity descriptions are assigned a single 
6-digit code using the ATUS Coding Lexicon. The 3-tier coding system consists of 17 
major activity categories, each with multiple second- and third-tier subcategories. 
These coding lexicon categories 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 ATUS Coding Lexicon can be accessed at www.bls.gov/tus/lexicons.htm.

   Because of the complexity of coding everyday activities into narrowly defined lexicon
categories, coders use a comprehensive set of rules to guide their decisions. In order
to capture useful and detailed information, travel activities are coded according to
the purpose of travel. For more information about coding travel, see Exhibit 5.1 of 
the ATUS User's guide at www.bls.gov/tus/atususersguide.pdf.

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. The ATUS collects data
about daily activities from all segments of the population age 15 and over, including
persons who are employed and not employed. Activity profiles differ based upon age,
employment status, sex, and other characteristics. For example, in 2021, persons in
the United States age 15 and over spent 3.2 hours per day working. By comparison, on
an average weekday they worked, full-time employed persons spent 8.5 hours working.
Many activities typically are not done on a daily basis, and some activities only are
done by a subset of the population.

   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 specified activity.

   --Average hours per day, population. The average number of hours per day is computed
     using all responses from a given sample of the population, including those of 
     respondents who did not do a particular activity on their diary day. These 
     estimates reflect how many persons engaged in an activity 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 the preceding Monday.

Earnings

   --Usual weekly earnings. Estimates represent the earnings of full-time wage and salary
     workers with one job only (both incorporated and unincorporated self-employed are
     excluded), before taxes and other deductions. They include any overtime pay, 
     commissions, or tips usually received. Usual weekly earnings are updated in the 
     ATUS for about 40 percent of wage and salary workers--if the respondent changed 
     jobs or employment status between the CPS and ATUS interviews, 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 quartiles. The ranges used for the quartiles represent 
     approximately 25 percent of full-time wage and salary workers (both incorporated 
     and unincorporated self-employed are excluded) who held only one job. For example,
     25 percent of full-time wage and salary workers with one job only had weekly 
     earnings of $690 or less in 2021. These dollar values vary from year to year.

Employment status

   --Employed. All persons who:

     1) At any time during the 7 days prior to the interview did any work at all as 
        paid employees, or worked in their own business or profession or on their own
        farm; or 

     2) Were not working during the 7 days prior to the interview but had jobs or 
        businesses from which they were temporarily absent because of 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; or

     3) Usually worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in a family-operated enterprise.

   --Employed full time. Full-time workers are those who usually worked 35 or more hours
     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. Those who are not employed include individuals 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 release do not correspond to
published totals from the CPS for several reasons. First, the reference population for
the ATUS is age 15 and over, whereas it is age 16 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 generally 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. While the
information on employment 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 
employment 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 substantial
lag since ATUS data and estimates are published during the year following data
collection.

   Household children. Household children are children under age 18 residing in the 
household of the ATUS respondent. The children may be related to the respondent (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 roommates or boarders).

   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 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 activities 
during which respondents had at least one child under age 13 in their care while doing
other things. The time individuals spend providing secondary childcare is further
restricted to the time between when the first household child under age 13 woke up 
and when the last household child under age 13 went to bed. It is also restricted to 
times the respondent was awake. 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, excluding holidays. 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. Data were not collected about the Fourth of July
in 2021.

Major activity category definitions

   The following definitions describe the activity categories shown in this report. All
major time-use categories in this release 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. In general, 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.

   Household activities. Household activities are activities done by individuals to 
maintain 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 or planning a party). Food preparation, 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 breakfast for my son" is coded as a household activity, not as 
childcare.

   Purchasing goods and services. This category includes time spent purchasing consumer
goods, professional and personal care services, household services, and government
services. Consumer purchases include most purchases and rentals of consumer goods,
regardless of the mode or place of purchase or rental (in person, online, via 
telephone, 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. Professional
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; vehicle 
maintenance and repairs; and home repairs, maintenance, and construction.

   This category also captures the time spent obtaining government services--such as 
applying for food assistance 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 relationship
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 with children; assisting 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 activity. For example, a report of "helping my spouse cook dinner" is 
considered a household activity (food preparation), not a helping activity, 
because cooking dinner 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. This category includes time spent in
activities done to care for or help others--both children (under age 18) and 
adults--who do not live in the household. 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.

   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 and 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, maintaining a rental property, or having a yard sale. These 
activities are those for which individuals are paid or will be paid. 

   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, 
income-generating, and job search activities.

   Educational activities. Time spent taking classes for a degree or for personal 
interest (including attending school virtually and taking internet or other distance-
learning courses), time spent doing research and homework, and time spent taking care
of administrative tasks related to education (such as registering for classes or 
obtaining a school ID) are included in this category. 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 as an activity involving caring
for and helping others.

   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 
government-required duties, such as serving jury duty or appearing in court, and 
activities 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 religious services; participating in choirs, youth groups, or unpaid 
teaching (unless identified as volunteer activities); and engaging in personal 
religious practices, such as praying.

   Leisure and sports. The leisure and sports category includes time spent in sports, 
exercise, and recreation; socializing and communicating; and other leisure activities.
Sports, exercise, and recreation activities include participating in--as well as 
attending or watching--sports, exercise, and recreational activities. Recreational
activities include yard games like croquet or horseshoes, as well as activities like
billiards and dancing. Socializing and communicating includes face-to-face social
communication and hosting or attending social functions. Leisure activities include
watching television; 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 time spent in telephone
communication and household or personal mail or e-mail. This category also includes
texting and internet voice and video calling. 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 security
procedures related to traveling, traveling not associated with a specific activity
category, ambiguous activities that could not be coded, and missing activities. 
Missing 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.

   ATUS records are weighted quarterly 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 represent
     about 2/7 of the weighted data for the population as a whole and for selected 
     subpopulations. The actual proportions 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, 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 with 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. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 
90-percent level of confidence.

   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 failure to sample
a segment of the population, inability to obtain information for all persons in the
sample, inability or unwillingness 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.

Publication requirements

   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 0.00, are published as approximately zero or "z". For
a detailed description of the statistical reliability criteria necessary for
publication, please contact ATUS staff at ATUSinfo@bls.gov.




Table 1. Time spent in primary activities and percent of the civilian population engaging in each activity, averages per day
by sex, 2021 annual averages
Activity Average hours per day, civilian population
Average percent engaged in the activity per day
Average hours per day for persons who engaged in the activity
Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women

Total, all activities(1)

24.00 24.00 24.00 - - - - - -

Personal care activities

9.70 9.51 9.88 99.9 99.9 100.0 9.71 9.52 9.88

Sleeping(2)

8.95 8.86 9.04 99.9 99.9 99.9 8.96 8.87 9.04

Eating and drinking

1.19 1.20 1.17 97.0 96.9 97.1 1.22 1.24 1.20

Household activities

1.95 1.54 2.33 78.9 71.1 86.2 2.47 2.16 2.70

Housework

0.58 0.30 0.84 35.6 21.4 49.1 1.62 1.38 1.71

Food preparation and cleanup

0.64 0.42 0.86 61.9 50.8 72.4 1.04 0.82 1.19

Lawn and garden care

0.20 0.27 0.14 10.1 11.3 9.0 2.02 2.38 1.60

Household management

0.14 0.11 0.17 17.9 15.1 20.6 0.79 0.74 0.83

Purchasing goods and services

0.68 0.57 0.78 40.5 37.1 43.7 1.68 1.55 1.79

Consumer goods purchases

0.32 0.25 0.38 36.6 33.7 39.4 0.87 0.75 0.96

Professional and personal care services

0.09 0.06 0.11 7.5 5.9 8.9 1.16 1.07 1.22

Caring for and helping household members

0.47 0.32 0.62 21.7 16.9 26.3 2.17 1.89 2.35

Caring for and helping household children

0.37 0.25 0.48 17.8 13.5 21.7 2.08 1.83 2.23

Caring for and helping nonhousehold members

0.18 0.13 0.23 9.1 7.1 11.0 2.00 1.89 2.07

Caring for and helping nonhousehold adults

0.06 0.06 0.07 6.2 5.1 7.3 1.04 1.16 0.97

Working and work-related activities

3.50 4.18 2.86 43.3 49.2 37.8 8.08 8.48 7.58

Working

3.22 3.82 2.66 41.6 47.3 36.2 7.74 8.06 7.34

Educational activities

0.43 0.40 0.46 8.0 7.7 8.2 5.39 5.22 5.54

Attending class

0.20 0.20 0.21 4.4 4.1 4.6 4.62 4.84 4.43

Homework and research

0.20 0.17 0.22 6.2 5.6 6.7 3.23 3.11 3.33

Organizational, civic, and religious activities

0.23 0.22 0.23 11.2 10.0 12.4 2.00 2.20 1.85

Religious and spiritual activities

0.11 0.10 0.13 8.0 6.6 9.3 1.42 1.48 1.38

Volunteering (organizational and civic activities)

0.09 0.10 0.08 4.0 4.0 4.1 2.23 2.51 1.96

Leisure and sports

5.27 5.61 4.94 96.2 96.4 96.0 5.48 5.83 5.14

Socializing and communicating

0.57 0.52 0.61 29.1 25.8 32.2 1.96 2.01 1.91

Watching television

2.86 3.04 2.69 78.0 78.2 77.9 3.66 3.89 3.45

Participating in sports, exercise, and recreation

0.32 0.40 0.24 21.5 23.4 19.6 1.47 1.70 1.22

Telephone calls, mail, and e-mail

0.21 0.13 0.28 20.8 14.9 26.4 1.01 0.88 1.08

Other activities, not elsewhere classified

0.20 0.18 0.22 15.2 13.8 16.5 1.32 1.33 1.32

Footnotes
(1) All major activity categories include related travel time. See Technical Note for activity category definitions.
(2) Includes naps and spells of sleeplessness.

- Not applicable.
NOTE: A primary activity refers to an individual's main activity. Other activities done simultaneously are not included. Data refer to persons 15 years and over.


Table 2. Time spent in primary activities and percent of the civilian population engaging in each
activity, averages per day on weekdays and weekends, 2021 annual averages
Activity Average hours per day, civilian
population
Average percent engaged in the
activity per day
Average hours per day for persons
who engaged in the activity
Weekdays Weekends
and
holidays
Weekdays Weekends
and
holidays
Weekdays Weekends
and
holidays

Total, all activities(1)

24.00 24.00 - - - -

Personal care activities

9.47 10.24 99.9 99.9 9.48 10.24

Sleeping(2)

8.71 9.52 99.9 99.9 8.72 9.54

Eating and drinking

1.14 1.30 97.3 96.2 1.17 1.35

Household activities

1.80 2.29 78.7 79.3 2.29 2.89

Housework

0.52 0.72 33.7 40.3 1.53 1.79

Food preparation and cleanup

0.63 0.68 63.1 59.2 1.00 1.15

Lawn and garden care

0.17 0.29 9.3 12.1 1.83 2.39

Household management

0.13 0.16 17.7 18.5 0.76 0.87

Purchasing goods and services

0.65 0.75 39.6 42.5 1.65 1.76

Consumer goods purchases

0.28 0.41 34.9 40.7 0.79 1.02

Professional and personal care services

0.11 0.04 9.1 3.5 1.15 1.20

Caring for and helping household members

0.48 0.45 22.7 19.4 2.12 2.32

Caring for and helping household children

0.36 0.38 18.6 15.8 1.96 2.42

Caring for and helping nonhousehold members

0.18 0.18 8.7 10.1 2.09 1.82

Caring for and helping nonhousehold adults

0.06 0.08 5.8 7.1 1.00 1.13

Working and work-related activities

4.45 1.24 52.8 20.9 8.43 5.94

Working

4.10 1.13 50.8 20.0 8.09 5.64

Educational activities

0.51 0.23 8.9 5.8 5.79 3.96

Attending class

0.28 0.02 6.0 0.5 4.65 3.50

Homework and research

0.20 0.21 6.5 5.3 3.02 3.86

Organizational, civic, and religious activities

0.17 0.35 9.8 14.7 1.75 2.40

Religious and spiritual activities

0.07 0.21 6.5 11.6 1.11 1.83

Volunteering (organizational and civic activities)

0.09 0.10 3.9 4.5 2.20 2.29

Leisure and sports

4.72 6.57 96.0 96.6 4.91 6.80

Socializing and communicating

0.43 0.89 26.9 34.3 1.61 2.59

Watching television

2.57 3.55 76.6 81.5 3.35 4.36

Participating in sports, exercise, and recreation

0.31 0.34 21.8 20.7 1.40 1.65

Telephone calls, mail, and e-mail

0.22 0.19 22.2 17.6 0.98 1.09

Other activities, not elsewhere classified

0.20 0.20 16.1 12.8 1.25 1.56

Footnotes
(1) All major activity categories include related travel time. See Technical Note for activity category definitions.
(2) Includes naps and spells of sleeplessness.

- Not applicable.
NOTE: A primary activity refers to an individual's main activity. Other activities done simultaneously are not included. Data refer to persons 15 years and over.


Table 3. Time spent in primary activities for the civilian population by age, sex, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, marital status, and
educational attainment, 2021 annual averages
Characteristic Average hours per day spent in primary activities(1)
Personal
care
activities
Eating and
drinking
Household
activities
Purchasing
goods and
services
Caring for
and
helping
household
members
Caring for
and
helping
non-
household
members
Working
and work-
related
activities
Educational
activities
Organizational,
civic, and
religious activities
Leisure
and sports
Telephone
calls, mail,
and e-mail
Other
activities,
not
elsewhere
classified

Age and sex

Total, 15 years and over

9.70 1.19 1.95 0.68 0.47 0.18 3.50 0.43 0.23 5.27 0.21 0.20

15 to 19 years

10.78 1.05 0.72 0.53 0.11 0.07 1.26 2.97 0.15 5.74 0.39 0.24

20 to 24 years

9.94 1.16 1.17 0.65 0.19 0.11 3.86 1.48 0.10 4.91 0.24 0.18

25 to 34 years

9.73 1.13 1.76 0.60 0.91 0.07 4.52 0.29 0.14 4.50 0.15 0.20

35 to 44 years

9.41 1.12 1.91 0.63 1.20 0.14 5.11 0.09 0.15 3.93 0.13 0.17

45 to 54 years

9.40 1.16 1.99 0.74 0.42 0.18 5.00 0.04 0.21 4.53 0.15 0.19

55 to 64 years

9.50 1.25 2.16 0.70 0.14 0.35 3.81 0.06 0.26 5.43 0.17 0.17

65 to 74 years

9.65 1.27 2.74 0.84 0.11 0.29 1.27 (2)- 0.40 6.89 0.29 0.23

75 years and over

9.92 1.39 2.55 0.74 0.09 0.18 0.34 (2)- 0.42 7.73 0.34 0.27

Men, 15 years and over

9.51 1.20 1.54 0.57 0.32 0.13 4.18 0.40 0.22 5.61 0.13 0.18

15 to 19 years

10.55 1.02 0.70 0.40 0.05 0.05 1.36 2.85 0.15 6.36 0.31 0.20

20 to 24 years

9.67 1.10 0.97 0.43 0.12 0.11 4.59 1.00 0.13 5.60 0.09 0.18

25 to 34 years

9.64 1.13 1.21 0.50 0.46 0.07 5.39 0.29 0.14 4.86 0.12 0.18

35 to 44 years

9.27 1.15 1.53 0.56 0.88 0.15 5.86 0.09 0.15 4.08 0.10 0.18

45 to 54 years

9.07 1.14 1.56 0.66 0.38 0.09 5.79 (3)- 0.22 4.79 0.09 0.17

55 to 64 years

9.32 1.37 1.76 0.54 0.10 0.18 4.48 (3)- 0.26 5.69 0.09 0.14

65 to 74 years

9.43 1.31 2.27 0.69 0.06 0.27 1.76 (2)- 0.35 7.45 0.17 0.22

75 years and over

9.79 1.41 2.09 0.83 0.06 0.13 0.46 (3)- 0.41 8.32 0.20 0.26

Women, 15 years and over

9.88 1.17 2.33 0.78 0.62 0.23 2.86 0.46 0.23 4.94 0.28 0.22

15 to 19 years

11.03 1.07 0.75 0.67 0.16 0.09 1.15 3.09 0.14 5.09 0.47 (3)-

20 to 24 years

10.22 1.22 1.36 0.87 0.27 0.11 3.11 1.97 0.08 4.21 0.38 0.19

25 to 34 years

9.82 1.13 2.30 0.70 1.36 0.07 3.65 0.29 0.14 4.13 0.18 0.23

35 to 44 years

9.55 1.08 2.28 0.69 1.52 0.13 4.38 0.09 0.15 3.79 0.17 0.17

45 to 54 years

9.71 1.17 2.40 0.81 0.45 0.27 4.24 0.04 0.19 4.28 0.22 0.21

55 to 64 years

9.67 1.14 2.53 0.85 0.17 0.50 3.19 0.05 0.25 5.20 0.24 0.20

65 to 74 years

9.84 1.24 3.15 0.97 0.16 0.30 0.84 (2)- 0.45 6.39 0.40 0.24

75 years and over

10.02 1.38 2.89 0.67 0.12 0.22 0.24 (2)- 0.43 7.30 0.45 0.28

Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

White, 15 years and over

9.65 1.21 2.04 0.69 0.47 0.19 3.48 0.38 0.21 5.29 0.20 0.19

Men

9.48 1.23 1.61 0.57 0.32 0.14 4.17 0.35 0.21 5.62 0.12 0.18

Women

9.82 1.19 2.45 0.81 0.62 0.24 2.81 0.40 0.21 4.97 0.27 0.21

Black or African American, 15 years and over

9.87 0.94 1.42 0.67 0.37 0.21 3.58 0.57 0.33 5.58 0.25 0.20

Men

9.47 0.90 1.03 0.60 0.18 0.15 4.23 0.63 0.31 6.07 0.21 0.20

Women

10.22 0.97 1.75 0.74 0.53 0.26 3.03 0.52 0.34 5.16 0.29 0.21

Asian, 15 years and over

9.79 1.43 1.86 0.57 0.65 0.07 3.67 0.81 0.26 4.32 0.31 0.27

Men

9.73 1.49 1.48 0.56 0.58 (3)- 4.40 (3)- 0.25 4.53 0.15 0.24

Women

9.84 1.37 2.22 0.59 0.72 0.07 2.97 1.08 0.26 4.12 0.46 (3)-

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 15 years and over

9.94 1.15 1.92 0.68 0.50 0.15 3.89 0.43 0.17 4.82 0.18 0.17

Men

9.72 1.19 1.19 0.55 0.30 0.10 4.75 0.43 0.15 5.32 0.12 0.19

Women

10.16 1.11 2.65 0.81 0.70 0.19 3.03 0.44 0.18 4.31 0.24 0.16

Marital status and sex

Married, spouse present

9.40 1.27 2.30 0.74 0.72 0.20 3.72 0.08 0.25 4.95 0.17 0.20

Men

9.19 1.31 1.81 0.66 0.53 0.14 4.47 0.07 0.26 5.26 0.10 0.19

Women

9.60 1.23 2.80 0.81 0.91 0.26 2.96 0.10 0.24 4.63 0.23 0.22

Other marital statuses

10.02 1.10 1.57 0.62 0.21 0.16 3.27 0.79 0.20 5.60 0.26 0.20

Men

9.87 1.08 1.23 0.47 0.08 0.12 3.85 0.78 0.17 6.01 0.16 0.17

Women

10.15 1.10 1.87 0.76 0.33 0.20 2.76 0.81 0.22 5.24 0.34 0.22

Educational attainment, 25 years and over

Less than a high school diploma

10.18 1.12 2.31 0.62 0.45 0.19 2.76 (3)- 0.27 5.76 0.10 0.18

High school graduates, no college

9.81 1.13 2.20 0.71 0.40 0.24 3.07 0.04 0.22 5.82 0.17 0.18

Some college or associate degree

9.55 1.15 2.17 0.71 0.51 0.23 3.50 0.16 0.23 5.40 0.19 0.19

Bachelor's degree and higher

9.31 1.30 2.02 0.69 0.65 0.16 4.37 0.11 0.26 4.68 0.22 0.22

Bachelor's degree only

9.44 1.28 1.99 0.69 0.59 0.18 4.25 0.14 0.25 4.76 0.22 0.21

Advanced degree

9.12 1.34 2.07 0.71 0.73 0.12 4.54 0.08 0.27 4.56 0.23 0.24

Footnotes
(1) All major activity categories include related travel time. See Technical Note for activity category definitions.
(2) Estimate is approximately zero.
(3) Estimate is suppressed because it does not meet the American Time Use Survey publication standards.

NOTE: A primary activity refers to an individual's main activity. Other activities done simultaneously are not included. 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, 2021 annual averages [Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic Total Employed Employed persons who worked on an average day Employed persons who worked on an average weekday Employed persons who worked on an average Saturday, Sunday, and holiday
Number Percent of employed Average hours of work Number(1) Percent of employed Average hours of work Number(2) Percent of employed Average hours of work

Full- and part-time status and sex

Total, 15 years and over(3)

162,328 110,010 67.8 7.75 134,134 82.6 8.10 52,813 32.5 5.64

Full-time workers

129,809 92,677 71.4 8.18 114,596 88.3 8.53 40,992 31.6 5.89

Part-time workers

32,519 17,332 53.3 5.45 19,597 60.3 5.62 11,845 36.4 4.76

Men(3)

85,746 60,895 71.0 8.07 74,112 86.4 8.40 30,180 35.2 6.13

Full-time workers

73,134 53,290 72.9 8.44 66,196 90.5 8.77 24,232 33.1 6.42

Part-time workers

12,612 7,605 60.3 5.42 8,100 64.2 5.59 (4)- (4)- 4.81

Women(3)

76,582 49,115 64.1 7.36 60,063 78.4 7.73 22,564 29.5 4.97

Full-time workers

56,675 39,387 69.5 7.82 48,451 85.5 8.20 16,671 29.4 5.06

Part-time workers

19,907 9,727 48.9 5.48 11,461 57.6 5.65 5,891 29.6 4.72

Jobholding status

Single jobholders

148,358 99,162 66.8 7.72 121,756 82.1 8.07 45,754 30.8 5.53

Multiple jobholders

13,970 10,848 77.6 8.01 12,370 88.5 8.40 7,121 51.0 6.36

Educational attainment, 25 years and over

Less than a high school diploma

7,891 5,856 74.2 7.52 6,638 84.1 7.78 (4)- (4)- 6.16

High school graduates, no college

35,075 22,312 63.6 8.08 27,942 79.7 8.17 9,502 27.1 7.44

Some college or associate degree

30,133 20,052 66.5 7.93 24,706 82.0 8.17 9,087 30.2 6.33

Bachelor's degree and higher

68,024 48,575 71.4 7.72 59,555 87.6 8.25 22,198 32.6 4.35

Bachelor's degree only

40,156 28,004 69.7 7.65 34,867 86.8 8.10 12,261 30.5 4.71

Advanced degree

27,868 20,571 73.8 7.83 24,678 88.6 8.45 10,008 35.9 3.86

Footnotes
(1) Number was derived by multiplying the "Total employed" by the percent of employed persons who worked on an average weekday.
(2) Number was derived by multiplying the "Total employed" by the percent of employed persons who worked on an average Saturday, Sunday, and holiday.
(3) Includes workers whose hours vary.
(4) Estimate is suppressed because it does not meet the American Time Use Survey publication standards.

NOTE: Includes work at main and other job(s), and excludes travel related to work. 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, 2021 annual averages [Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic Total Employed Employed persons who worked on an average day Employed persons who worked on an average weekday Employed persons who worked on an average Saturday, Sunday, and holiday
Number Percent of employed Average hours of work Number(1) Percent of employed Average hours of work Number(2) Percent of employed Average hours of work

Class of worker (main job only)

Wage and salary workers

151,864 102,490 67.5 7.74 126,397 83.2 8.08 45,755 30.1 5.55

Self-employed workers(3)

10,283 6,491 63.1 6.41 7,274 70.7 6.72 (4)- (4)- 5.32

Occupation (main job only)

Management, business, and financial operations

30,512 22,320 73.2 7.82 27,687 90.7 8.36 9,128 29.9 3.76

Professional and related

43,432 29,144 67.1 7.54 36,372 83.7 8.02 11,840 27.3 4.04

Service

24,463 15,295 62.5 7.14 17,329 70.8 7.07 9,597 39.2 7.49

Sales and related

12,620 8,527 67.6 7.37 10,290 81.5 7.71 5,389 42.7 6.22

Office and administrative support

16,369 10,157 62.1 7.67 13,089 80.0 7.91 3,304 20.2 5.40

Farming, fishing, and forestry

2,481 (4)- (4)- 8.12 (4)- (4)- 8.26 (4)- (4)- 7.68

Construction and extraction

8,077 5,068 62.7 7.89 (4)- (4)- 8.11 (4)- (4)- 6.69

Installation, maintenance, and repair

4,272 2,910 68.1 8.26 (4)- (4)- 8.53 (4)- (4)- 6.26

Production

9,357 6,140 65.6 8.56 8,117 86.7 8.91 2,316 24.7 6.19

Transportation and material moving

10,747 7,942 73.9 7.89 9,058 84.3 8.08 4,488 41.8 6.67

Usual weekly earnings of full-time wage
and salary workers
(single jobholders only)(5)

$0 - $690

27,220 19,165 70.4 7.92 23,354 85.8 8.08 9,182 33.7 6.96

$691 - $1,080

28,040 18,628 66.4 8.08 24,368 86.9 8.32 7,158 25.5 6.42

$1,081 - $1,730

27,268 19,164 70.3 8.22 24,011 88.1 8.62 6,550 24.0 4.36

$1,731 and higher

27,376 20,483 74.8 8.49 25,178 92.0 8.96 8,477 31.0 4.93

Footnotes
(1) Number was derived by multiplying the "Total employed" by the percent of employed persons who worked on an average weekday.
(2) Number was derived by multiplying the "Total employed" by the percent of employed persons who worked on an average Saturday, Sunday, and holiday.
(3) Includes self-employed workers whose businesses are unincorporated. Self-employed workers whose businesses are incorporated are classified as wage and salary
workers.
(4) Estimate is suppressed because it does not meet the American Time Use Survey publication standards.
(5) The earnings data are limited to wage and salary workers (both incorporated and unincorporated self-employed workers
are excluded). Each earnings range represents approximately 25 percent of full-time wage and salary workers who held only one job.

NOTE: Includes work at main job only and excludes travel related to work. Data refer to persons 15 years and over.


Table 6. Employed persons working at home, workplace, and time spent working at each location by full- and part-time status and sex, jobholding status, and educational attainment, 2021 annual averages [Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic Total Employed Employed persons who worked on an average day Employed persons who worked at their workplace on an average day(1) Employed persons who worked at home on an average day(1)(2)
Number Percent of employed Average hours of work Number Percent of those who worked Average hours of work at workplace Number Percent of those who worked Average hours of work at home

Full- and part-time status and sex

Total, 15 years and over(3)

162,328 110,010 67.8 7.75 75,193 68.4 7.84 41,890 38.1 5.61

Full-time workers

129,809 92,677 71.4 8.18 62,934 67.9 8.24 36,664 39.6 5.88

Part-time workers

32,519 17,332 53.3 5.45 12,258 70.7 5.77 5,226 30.1 3.69

Men(3)

85,746 60,895 71.0 8.07 43,340 71.2 8.06 21,488 35.3 5.77

Full-time workers

73,134 53,290 72.9 8.44 37,776 70.9 8.43 19,549 36.7 5.94

Part-time workers

12,612 7,605 60.3 5.42 5,563 73.2 5.56 1,938 25.5 4.01

Women(3)

76,582 49,115 64.1 7.36 31,853 64.9 7.53 20,402 41.5 5.45

Full-time workers

56,675 39,387 69.5 7.82 25,158 63.9 7.95 17,115 43.5 5.82

Part-time workers

19,907 9,727 48.9 5.48 6,695 68.8 5.95 3,287 33.8 3.50

Jobholding status

Single jobholders

148,358 99,162 66.8 7.72 68,014 68.6 7.84 36,505 36.8 5.72

Multiple jobholders

13,970 10,848 77.6 8.01 7,179 66.2 7.78 5,385 49.6 4.90

Educational attainment, 25 years and over

Less than a high school diploma

7,891 5,856 74.2 7.52 5,464 93.3 7.48 343 5.9 (4)-

High school graduates, no college

35,075 22,312 63.6 8.08 19,212 86.1 8.05 4,188 18.8 4.76

Some college or associate degree

30,133 20,052 66.5 7.93 15,036 75.0 8.03 6,143 30.6 5.38

Bachelor's degree and higher

68,024 48,575 71.4 7.72 24,184 49.8 7.92 29,059 59.8 5.88

Bachelor's degree only

40,156 28,004 69.7 7.65 14,453 51.6 7.83 15,307 54.7 6.07

Advanced degree

27,868 20,571 73.8 7.83 9,731 47.3 8.05 13,753 66.9 5.67

Footnotes
(1) Individuals may have worked at more than one location.
(2) Working at home includes any time persons did work at home and is not restricted to persons whose usual workplace is their home.
(3) Includes workers whose hours vary.
(4) Estimate is suppressed because it does not meet the American Time Use Survey publication standards.

NOTE: Includes work at main and other job(s) and at locations other than home or workplace. Excludes travel related to work. Unless otherwise specified, data refer to persons 15 years and over.


Table 7. Employed persons working on main job at home, workplace, and time spent working at each location by class of worker, occupation, and earnings, 2021 annual averages [Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic Total Employed Employed persons who worked on an average day Employed persons who worked at their workplace on an average day(1) Employed persons who worked at home on an average day(1)(2)
Number Percent of employed Average hours of work Number Percent of those who worked Average hours of work at workplace Number Percent of those who worked Average hours of work at home

Class of worker (main job only)

Wage and salary workers

151,864 102,490 67.5 7.74 71,134 69.4 7.84 37,531 36.6 5.71

Self-employed workers(3)

10,283 6,491 63.1 6.41 3,132 48.2 7.22 2,944 45.3 4.98

Occupation (main job only)

Management, business, and financial operations

30,512 22,320 73.2 7.82 10,799 48.4 8.01 13,173 59.0 6.26

Professional and related

43,432 29,144 67.1 7.54 15,467 53.1 7.83 16,478 56.5 5.51

Service

24,463 15,295 62.5 7.14 13,579 88.8 7.18 1,977 12.9 3.87

Sales and related

12,620 8,527 67.6 7.37 6,120 71.8 7.48 2,947 34.6 5.19

Office and administrative support

16,369 10,157 62.1 7.67 7,061 69.5 7.81 3,490 34.4 6.08

Farming, fishing, and forestry

2,481 (4)- (4)- 8.12 (4)- (4)- 8.84 (4)- (4)- 7.24

Construction and extraction

8,077 5,068 62.7 7.89 4,727 93.3 7.99 514 10.2 (4)-

Installation, maintenance, and repair

4,272 2,910 68.1 8.26 2,620 90.0 8.44 395 13.6 4.00

Production

9,357 6,140 65.6 8.56 5,906 96.2 8.54 462 7.5 3.88

Transportation and material moving

10,747 7,942 73.9 7.89 7,109 89.5 7.87 528 6.6 5.82

Usual weekly earnings of full-time wage
and salary workers
(single jobholders only)(5)

$0 - $690

27,220 19,165 70.4 7.92 17,026 88.8 8.01 2,960 15.4 4.11

$691 - $1,080

28,040 18,628 66.4 8.08 14,129 75.8 8.27 5,508 29.6 5.58

$1,081 - $1,730

27,268 19,164 70.3 8.22 11,817 61.7 8.41 8,482 44.3 6.20

$1,731 and higher

27,376 20,483 74.8 8.49 10,252 50.1 8.52 12,238 59.7 6.65

Footnotes
(1) Individuals may have worked at more than one location.
(2) Working at home includes any time persons did work at home and is not restricted to persons whose usual workplace is their home.
(3) Includes self-employed workers whose businesses are unincorporated. Self-employed workers whose businesses are incorporated are classified as wage and salary workers.
(4) Estimate is suppressed because it does not meet the American Time Use Survey publication standards.
(5) The earnings data are limited to wage and salary workers (both incorporated and unincorporated self-employed workers
are excluded). Each earnings range represents approximately 25 percent of full-time wage and salary workers who held only one job.

NOTE: Includes work at main job only and at locations other than home or workplace. Excludes travel related to work. Data refer to persons 15 years and over.


Table 8A. Time spent in primary activities for the civilian population 18 years and over by presence and age of youngest household child and sex, 2021 annual averages, total
Activity Average hours per day spent in primary activities
Household child under 18 No household children under 18
Total Youngest household child
under 6
Youngest household child
6 to 17
Total Men Women
Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women

Total, all activities(1)

24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00

Personal care activities

9.49 9.21 9.74 9.29 9.06 9.50 9.64 9.32 9.91 9.71 9.56 9.87

Sleeping(2)

8.76 8.57 8.93 8.66 8.45 8.84 8.84 8.66 8.99 8.97 8.90 9.03

Eating and drinking

1.15 1.19 1.11 1.18 1.25 1.12 1.12 1.14 1.11 1.21 1.22 1.21

Household activities

1.99 1.40 2.49 2.05 1.37 2.64 1.95 1.43 2.38 2.03 1.66 2.39

Housework

0.64 0.32 0.92 0.64 0.32 0.93 0.65 0.33 0.91 0.57 0.29 0.85

Food preparation and cleanup

0.81 0.45 1.13 0.95 0.51 1.33 0.71 0.39 0.98 0.60 0.42 0.77

Lawn and garden care

0.12 0.17 0.08 0.10 0.15 0.07 0.13 0.19 0.08 0.26 0.33 0.19

Household management

0.12 0.09 0.14 0.11 0.08 0.14 0.12 0.09 0.14 0.16 0.13 0.20

Purchasing goods and services

0.65 0.57 0.71 0.62 0.59 0.64 0.67 0.56 0.76 0.71 0.59 0.84

Consumer goods purchases

0.31 0.26 0.35 0.29 0.28 0.30 0.32 0.24 0.39 0.33 0.26 0.39

Professional and personal care services

0.07 0.04 0.09 0.08 0.05 0.10 0.06 0.04 0.09 0.10 0.08 0.12

Caring for and helping household members

1.39 0.98 1.74 2.25 1.65 2.79 0.74 0.47 0.97 0.06 0.05 0.08

Caring for and helping household children

1.19 0.84 1.49 2.02 1.46 2.52 0.57 0.36 0.75 - - -

Caring for and helping nonhousehold members

0.08 0.09 0.08 0.07 0.10 0.05 0.09 0.08 0.10 0.24 0.16 0.32

Caring for and helping nonhousehold adults

0.04 0.05 0.04 0.04 0.07 0.02 0.04 0.03 0.05 0.08 0.07 0.09

Working and work-related activities

4.47 5.60 3.51 4.35 5.70 3.16 4.57 5.53 3.76 3.25 3.79 2.71

Working

4.15 5.16 3.28 4.04 5.25 2.97 4.23 5.10 3.50 2.97 3.45 2.51

Educational activities

0.24 0.21 0.28 0.16 0.07 (3)- 0.31 0.31 0.32 0.26 0.25 0.28

Attending class

0.06 0.05 0.07 (3)- (3)- (3)- 0.06 (3)- 0.05 0.10 0.09 0.11

Homework and research

0.17 0.13 0.19 0.07 0.04 0.11 0.23 0.21 0.26 0.14 0.14 0.15

Organizational, civic, and religious activities

0.18 0.19 0.17 0.16 0.20 0.13 0.19 0.19 0.20 0.25 0.23 0.26

Religious and spiritual activities

0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.12 0.09 0.10 0.08 0.11 0.12 0.10 0.14

Volunteering (organizational and civic activities)

0.06 0.08 0.05 0.04 0.06 0.02 0.08 0.09 0.07 0.10 0.11 0.10

Leisure and sports

4.01 4.27 3.79 3.52 3.72 3.35 4.37 4.68 4.11 5.84 6.19 5.50

Socializing and communicating

0.64 0.60 0.67 0.62 0.57 0.65 0.65 0.62 0.68 0.54 0.49 0.60

Watching television

2.05 2.14 1.96 1.82 1.94 1.71 2.22 2.29 2.15 3.31 3.52 3.11

Participating in sports, exercise, and recreation

0.27 0.31 0.23 0.25 0.24 0.25 0.28 0.36 0.22 0.31 0.41 0.22

Telephone calls, mail, and e-mail

0.13 0.08 0.18 0.11 0.08 0.13 0.15 0.07 0.22 0.23 0.14 0.32

Other activities, not elsewhere classified

0.21 0.21 0.20 0.24 0.21 0.26 0.18 0.21 0.16 0.20 0.17 0.23

Footnotes
(1) All major activity categories include related travel time. See Technical Note for activity category definitions.
(2) Includes naps and spells of sleeplessness.
(3) Estimate is suppressed because it does not meet the American Time Use Survey publication standards.

- Not applicable.
NOTE: A primary activity refers to an individual's main activity. Other activities done simultaneously are not included.


Table 8B. Time spent in primary activities for the civilian population 18 years and over by presence and age of youngest household child and sex, 2021 annual averages, employed
Activity Average hours per day spent in primary activities
Household child under 18 No household children under 18
Total Youngest household child
under 6
Youngest household child
6 to 17
Total Men Women
Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women

Total, all activities(1)

24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00

Personal care activities

9.30 9.09 9.52 9.14 9.00 9.31 9.42 9.16 9.68 9.49 9.32 9.68

Sleeping(2)

8.58 8.44 8.72 8.51 8.42 8.61 8.63 8.46 8.80 8.73 8.63 8.84

Eating and drinking

1.13 1.21 1.05 1.15 1.26 1.01 1.13 1.17 1.08 1.17 1.16 1.19

Household activities

1.66 1.28 2.07 1.64 1.23 2.12 1.67 1.32 2.03 1.62 1.36 1.90

Housework

0.50 0.27 0.75 0.51 0.29 0.76 0.50 0.25 0.74 0.41 0.22 0.63

Food preparation and cleanup

0.64 0.38 0.91 0.71 0.43 1.05 0.58 0.34 0.82 0.50 0.37 0.64

Lawn and garden care

0.12 0.18 0.06 0.10 0.14 0.05 0.14 0.21 0.07 0.18 0.23 0.13

Household management

0.11 0.09 0.13 0.10 0.09 0.13 0.11 0.09 0.13 0.12 0.10 0.14

Purchasing goods and services

0.56 0.48 0.65 0.55 0.52 0.59 0.57 0.45 0.70 0.62 0.50 0.75

Consumer goods purchases

0.26 0.23 0.30 0.25 0.25 0.24 0.27 0.21 0.33 0.29 0.22 0.36

Professional and personal care services

0.06 0.03 0.09 0.07 0.04 0.10 0.06 0.03 0.08 0.06 0.04 0.09

Caring for and helping household members

1.26 1.00 1.53 2.05 1.64 2.54 0.66 0.48 0.84 0.04 0.03 0.05

Caring for and helping household children

1.08 0.87 1.31 1.82 1.47 2.24 0.52 0.37 0.66 - - -

Caring for and helping nonhousehold members

0.08 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.11 0.05 0.08 0.06 0.10 0.18 0.14 0.24

Caring for and helping nonhousehold adults

0.04 0.05 0.04 0.05 0.08 0.02 0.04 0.03 0.05 0.07 0.06 0.08

Working and work-related activities

5.85 6.51 5.13 5.63 6.35 4.76 6.02 6.64 5.39 5.56 6.02 5.04

Working

5.45 6.02 4.84 5.24 5.86 4.50 5.61 6.15 5.07 5.20 5.63 4.71

Educational activities

0.13 0.10 0.16 0.11 0.05 0.19 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.22 0.22 0.23

Attending class

0.03 (3)- (4)- (4)- (3)- (4)- (3)- (4)- (4)- 0.09 0.09 0.10

Homework and research

0.09 0.08 0.11 0.07 0.04 0.10 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.12 0.12 0.12

Organizational, civic, and religious activities

0.14 0.15 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.11 0.16 0.18 0.14 0.18 0.19 0.18

Religious and spiritual activities

0.08 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.07 0.08 0.07 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.09

Volunteering (organizational and civic activities)

0.05 0.06 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.07 0.09 0.05 0.08 0.09 0.07

Leisure and sports

3.58 3.84 3.31 3.20 3.43 2.92 3.88 4.18 3.58 4.59 4.81 4.33

Socializing and communicating

0.58 0.53 0.64 0.56 0.54 0.58 0.60 0.51 0.68 0.51 0.46 0.57

Watching television

1.82 1.96 1.66 1.64 1.81 1.44 1.95 2.10 1.81 2.44 2.53 2.33

Participating in sports, exercise, and recreation

0.25 0.28 0.21 0.24 0.25 0.23 0.26 0.32 0.19 0.29 0.34 0.24

Telephone calls, mail, and e-mail

0.10 0.05 0.16 0.10 0.06 0.13 0.11 0.04 0.17 0.16 0.11 0.22

Other activities, not elsewhere classified

0.20 0.20 0.20 0.24 0.22 0.27 0.17 0.18 0.16 0.17 0.15 0.19

Footnotes
(1) All major activity categories include related travel time. See Technical Note for activity category definitions.
(2) Includes naps and spells of sleeplessness.
(3) Estimate is approximately zero.
(4) Estimate is suppressed because it does not meet the American Time Use Survey publication standards.

- Not applicable.
NOTE: A primary activity refers to an individual's main activity. Other activities done simultaneously are not included.


Table 8C. Time spent in primary activities for the civilian population 18 years and over by presence and age of youngest household child and sex, 2021 annual averages, not employed
Activity Average hours per day spent in primary activities
Household child under 18 No household children under 18
Total Youngest household child
under 6
Youngest household child
6 to 17
Total Men Women
Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women

Total, all activities(1)

24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00

Personal care activities

10.11 9.93 10.18 9.80 9.52 9.87 10.34 10.12 10.43 10.01 9.93 10.08

Sleeping(2)

9.34 9.30 9.36 9.15 8.65 9.29 9.48 9.61 9.41 9.28 9.32 9.25

Eating and drinking

1.19 1.06 1.23 1.30 1.22 1.33 1.11 0.99 1.16 1.27 1.32 1.22

Household activities

3.04 2.16 3.38 3.41 2.54 3.65 2.78 1.98 3.16 2.57 2.13 2.93

Housework

1.10 0.64 1.27 1.09 (3)- 1.25 1.10 0.70 1.29 0.78 0.39 1.10

Food preparation and cleanup

1.38 0.83 1.59 1.74 1.24 1.88 1.13 0.63 1.35 0.74 0.50 0.93

Lawn and garden care

0.12 0.14 0.11 0.13 (3)- 0.10 0.11 (3)- 0.11 0.36 0.49 0.26

Household management

0.14 0.07 0.17 0.14 (3)- 0.17 0.14 0.09 0.16 0.22 0.17 0.26

Purchasing goods and services

0.91 1.11 0.83 0.83 1.16 0.74 0.97 (3)- 0.91 0.84 0.73 0.93

Consumer goods purchases

0.46 0.45 0.46 0.43 0.53 0.40 0.48 0.41 0.51 0.38 0.31 0.43

Professional and personal care services

0.10 (3)- 0.10 0.11 (3)- 0.10 0.08 (3)- 0.10 0.15 0.13 0.16

Caring for and helping household members

1.81 0.83 2.17 2.95 1.72 3.28 1.01 0.42 1.28 0.10 0.07 0.12

Caring for and helping household children

1.55 0.66 1.88 2.71 1.41 3.06 0.74 (3)- 0.93 - - -

Caring for and helping nonhousehold members

0.09 0.13 0.07 0.03 (3)- 0.03 0.13 (3)- 0.10 0.31 0.20 0.40

Caring for and helping nonhousehold adults

0.04 (3)- 0.04 (4)- (3)- (3)- 0.05 (3)- 0.06 0.09 0.08 0.09

Working and work-related activities(5)

0.10 0.15 0.09 (3)- (3)- (3)- 0.13 (3)- (3)- 0.19 0.28 0.11

Working(5)

(4)- (4)- (4)- (3)- (3)- (3)- (4)- (4)- (4)- 0.04 (4)- 0.06

Educational activities

0.62 0.84 (3)- (3)- (3)- (3)- 0.84 1.09 (3)- 0.31 0.28 0.33

Attending class

0.18 (3)- (3)- (3)- (3)- (3)- 0.17 (3)- (3)- 0.12 0.10 0.13

Homework and research

0.40 (3)- (3)- (3)- (3)- (3)- 0.61 (3)- (3)- 0.17 0.17 0.17

Organizational, civic, and religious activities

0.31 0.42 0.27 0.32 (3)- 0.18 0.31 (3)- 0.34 0.33 0.31 0.35

Religious and spiritual activities

0.18 (3)- 0.15 0.19 (3)- 0.12 0.17 (3)- 0.18 0.17 0.13 0.20

Volunteering (organizational and civic activities)

0.10 (3)- 0.08 (3)- (3)- (3)- 0.12 (3)- 0.13 0.14 0.15 0.13

Leisure and sports

5.36 6.86 4.80 4.62 6.24 4.18 5.89 7.15 5.30 7.50 8.35 6.81

Socializing and communicating

0.82 1.03 0.73 0.80 (3)- 0.80 0.82 1.14 0.68 0.59 0.55 0.62

Watching television

2.77 3.21 2.61 2.41 3.10 2.22 3.03 3.26 2.92 4.47 5.08 3.98

Participating in sports, exercise, and recreation

0.33 0.46 0.28 0.28 0.21 0.30 0.36 (3)- 0.26 0.34 0.52 0.20

Telephone calls, mail, and e-mail

0.23 0.22 0.23 0.15 (3)- 0.13 0.28 (3)- 0.32 0.33 0.19 0.44

Other activities, not elsewhere classified

0.23 (3)- 0.20 0.23 0.13 0.25 0.23 (3)- 0.16 0.24 0.20 0.27

Footnotes
(1) All major activity categories include related travel time. See Technical Note for activity category definitions.
(2) Includes naps and spells of sleeplessness.
(3) Estimate is suppressed because it does not meet the American Time Use Survey publication standards.
(4) Estimate is approximately zero.
(5) Estimates include a small amount of work time done by persons who do not meet the American Time Use Survey definition for employed.

- Not applicable.
NOTE: A primary activity refers to an individual's main activity. Other activities done simultaneously are not included.


Table 9. Time adults spent caring for household children as a primary activity by sex, age, and day of week, 2021 annual averages
Childcare activities Average hours per day adults spent caring for household children
Total Weekdays Weekends and holidays
Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women

Children under age 18, total

Caring for household children as a primary activity

1.34 0.94 1.69 1.36 0.86 1.79 1.30 1.14 1.45

Physical care

0.45 0.26 0.61 0.45 0.23 0.63 0.46 0.31 0.58

Education-related activities

0.11 0.04 0.16 0.14 0.05 0.21 0.04 0.03 0.04

Reading to/with children

0.05 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.05

Talking to/with children

0.05 0.03 0.07 0.05 0.03 0.07 0.04 0.03 0.05

Playing/doing hobbies with children

0.33 0.31 0.35 0.29 0.25 0.31 0.43 0.42 0.43

Looking after children

0.07 0.06 0.08 0.07 0.04 0.08 0.09 0.09 0.08

Attending children's events

0.05 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.08 0.11 0.06

Travel related to care of household children

0.15 0.10 0.19 0.18 0.12 0.24 0.08 0.07 0.09

Other childcare activities

0.09 0.06 0.12 0.11 0.06 0.15 0.06 0.04 0.07

Youngest child ages 6 to 17

Caring for household children as a primary activity

0.70 0.45 0.91 0.75 0.42 1.03 0.58 0.51 0.64

Physical care

0.13 0.06 0.19 0.14 0.06 0.21 0.11 0.06 0.16

Education-related activities

0.12 0.06 0.18 0.16 0.07 0.24 0.03 (1)- 0.04

Reading to/with children

0.02 0.01 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 (1)- 0.03

Talking to/with children

0.06 0.02 0.09 0.06 0.01 0.09 0.05 0.03 0.06

Playing/doing hobbies with children

0.09 0.09 0.10 0.07 0.06 0.08 0.14 0.15 0.12

Looking after children

0.02 0.02 0.03 0.02 (1)- 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.03

Attending children's events

0.05 0.05 0.04 0.03 (2)- 0.03 0.08 0.09 0.07

Travel related to care of household children

0.13 0.09 0.17 0.15 0.09 0.20 0.07 0.07 0.08

Other childcare activities

0.08 0.05 0.10 0.09 0.05 0.12 0.06 0.06 0.06

Child under age 6

Caring for household children as a primary activity

2.21 1.59 2.75 2.18 1.44 2.80 2.27 1.91 2.62

Physical care

0.87 0.51 1.19 0.86 0.46 1.19 0.91 0.62 1.20

Education-related activities

0.09 0.03 0.13 0.10 0.03 0.17 0.04 (2)- 0.05

Reading to/with children

0.08 0.07 0.09 0.08 0.07 0.09 0.08 0.06 0.09

Talking to/with children

0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.03 0.03 0.03

Playing/doing hobbies with children

0.65 0.59 0.69 0.57 0.52 0.62 0.81 0.75 0.87

Looking after children

0.14 0.11 0.16 0.12 0.08 0.16 0.16 0.18 0.15

Attending children's events

0.05 0.05 0.05 0.03 (1)- 0.05 0.09 0.13 0.05

Travel related to care of household children

0.18 0.12 0.23 0.22 0.15 0.29 0.09 0.07 0.10

Other childcare activities

0.11 0.06 0.16 0.14 0.08 0.19 0.06 0.03 0.08

Footnotes
(1) Estimate is approximately zero.
(2) Estimate is suppressed because it does not meet the American Time Use Survey publication standards.

NOTE: Includes persons 18 years and over living in households with children under 18, whether or not they provided childcare.


Table 10. Time adults spent in primary activities while providing childcare as a secondary activity by sex, age, and day of week, 2021 annual averages
Childcare activities(1) Average hours per day adults spent caring for household children(2)
Total Weekdays Weekends and holidays
Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women

Children under age 13, total

Total

5.53 4.44 6.49 4.72 3.29 5.92 7.47 6.96 7.95

Personal care activities

0.26 0.17 0.34 0.24 0.15 0.31 0.32 0.24 0.41

Household activities

1.38 0.80 1.88 1.18 0.53 1.72 1.86 1.40 2.30

Purchasing goods and services

0.28 0.21 0.35 0.23 0.14 0.30 0.42 0.38 0.46

Working and work-related activities

0.49 0.44 0.54 0.64 0.56 0.71 0.14 0.18 0.11

Eating and drinking

0.69 0.63 0.74 0.59 0.50 0.67 0.92 0.90 0.95

Leisure and sports

2.01 1.85 2.15 1.50 1.20 1.75 3.21 3.27 3.15

Other activities

0.41 0.33 0.49 0.34 0.21 0.45 0.59 0.59 0.58

Youngest child ages 6 to 12

Total

5.23 3.94 6.34 4.43 2.86 5.75 7.16 6.41 7.88

Personal care activities

0.27 0.14 0.38 0.24 0.11 0.34 0.33 0.20 0.46

Household activities

1.24 0.73 1.70 1.04 0.47 1.52 1.74 1.30 2.16

Purchasing goods and services

0.24 0.14 0.32 0.17 0.08 0.25 0.39 0.28 0.49

Working and work-related activities

0.54 0.46 0.61 0.68 0.53 0.80 0.22 (3)- 0.13

Eating and drinking

0.59 0.51 0.66 0.50 0.41 0.59 0.81 0.76 0.86

Leisure and sports

1.99 1.71 2.24 1.52 1.10 1.87 3.14 3.10 3.18

Other activities

0.35 0.25 0.44 0.28 0.16 0.38 0.53 0.46 0.60

Child under age 6

Total

5.77 4.82 6.61 4.95 3.63 6.05 7.69 7.37 8.01

Personal care activities

0.26 0.20 0.31 0.24 0.17 0.29 0.32 0.26 0.37

Household activities

1.48 0.87 2.03 1.29 0.58 1.88 1.94 1.48 2.40

Purchasing goods and services

0.32 0.27 0.37 0.27 0.18 0.34 0.45 0.45 0.44

Working and work-related activities

0.46 0.43 0.48 0.61 0.59 0.63 0.09 0.09 0.09

Eating and drinking

0.76 0.71 0.81 0.66 0.58 0.73 1.01 1.00 1.01

Leisure and sports

2.02 1.95 2.08 1.49 1.28 1.66 3.26 3.40 3.13

Other activities

0.46 0.39 0.53 0.39 0.25 0.51 0.63 0.68 0.57

Footnotes
(1) All major activity categories include related travel time. See Technical Note for activity category definitions.
(2) Secondary childcare is defined as time one has a child under 13 years "in his or her care" while doing something else as a primary activity; information on secondary
childcare is not collected for children over 12 years.
(3) Estimate is suppressed because it does not meet the American Time Use Survey publication standards.

NOTE: Includes persons 18 years and over living in households with children under 13 years, whether or not they provided childcare.


Table 11A. Time spent in leisure and sports activities for the civilian population by selected characteristics, averages per day, 2021 annual averages
Characteristic Average hours per day spent in leisure and sports activities, all days of week
Total, all leisure and sports activities Participating in
sports, exercise and
recreation
Socializing and
communicating
Watching TV Reading Relaxing/
thinking
Playing games
and computer
use for leisure
Other leisure
and sports
activities,
including
travel(1)

Sex

Men

5.61 0.40 0.52 3.04 0.23 0.35 0.69 0.39

Women

4.94 0.24 0.61 2.69 0.32 0.34 0.43 0.31

Age

Total, 15 years and over

5.27 0.32 0.57 2.86 0.28 0.34 0.56 0.35

15 to 19 years

5.74 0.66 0.70 1.96 0.16 0.32 1.44 0.50

20 to 24 years

4.91 0.30 0.65 2.02 0.15 0.20 1.05 0.54

25 to 34 years

4.50 0.36 0.55 2.16 0.13 0.24 0.71 0.34

35 to 44 years

3.93 0.27 0.57 2.09 0.15 0.27 0.32 0.26

45 to 54 years

4.53 0.26 0.56 2.55 0.26 0.34 0.28 0.27

55 to 64 years

5.43 0.24 0.58 3.33 0.29 0.38 0.33 0.29

65 to 74 years

6.89 0.31 0.50 4.30 0.49 0.46 0.44 0.38

75 years and over

7.73 0.26 0.51 4.80 0.69 0.57 0.50 0.40

Race and Hispanic or
Latino ethnicity

White

5.29 0.33 0.58 2.84 0.30 0.31 0.56 0.37

Black or African American

5.58 0.18 0.53 3.50 0.16 0.55 0.37 0.28

Asian

4.32 0.40 0.42 1.97 0.28 0.31 0.67 0.27

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

4.82 0.31 0.63 2.56 0.10 0.32 0.48 0.41

Employment status

Employed

4.21 0.28 0.54 2.18 0.19 0.27 0.46 0.29

Full-time workers

4.01 0.28 0.51 2.13 0.17 0.26 0.39 0.27

Part-time workers

5.01 0.29 0.67 2.40 0.24 0.31 0.72 0.38

Not employed

6.93 0.37 0.61 3.93 0.42 0.45 0.71 0.44

Usual weekly earnings of full-time wage
and salary workers
(single jobholders only)(2)

$0 - $690

4.10 0.18 0.52 2.14 0.12 0.34 0.55 0.25

$691 - $1,080

4.19 0.22 0.50 2.47 0.12 0.23 0.39 0.26

$1,081 - $1,730

4.05 0.28 0.55 2.11 0.21 0.25 0.38 0.27

$1,731 and higher

3.81 0.39 0.47 1.88 0.26 0.25 0.31 0.26

Presence and age of
household children

No household children under 18

5.84 0.32 0.54 3.29 0.34 0.36 0.61 0.37

Household children under 18

4.16 0.31 0.62 2.03 0.15 0.30 0.44 0.30

Children 13 to 17 years, none younger

4.88 0.36 0.60 2.38 0.15 0.33 0.69 0.37

Children 6 to 12 years, none younger

4.32 0.35 0.66 2.01 0.21 0.32 0.44 0.33

Youngest child under 6 years

3.56 0.25 0.60 1.83 0.10 0.27 0.29 0.22

Marital status and sex

Married, spouse present

4.95 0.30 0.57 2.79 0.30 0.34 0.36 0.30

Men

5.26 0.35 0.53 3.04 0.27 0.36 0.36 0.35

Women

4.63 0.24 0.62 2.53 0.33 0.31 0.35 0.25

Other marital statuses

5.60 0.34 0.57 2.94 0.25 0.35 0.76 0.40

Men

6.01 0.45 0.51 3.03 0.19 0.33 1.06 0.43

Women

5.24 0.24 0.61 2.85 0.30 0.36 0.50 0.37

Educational attainment,
25 years and over

Less than a high school diploma

5.76 0.20 0.60 3.81 0.08 0.62 0.22 0.22

High school graduates, no college

5.82 0.22 0.51 3.67 0.23 0.46 0.42 0.32

Some college or associate degree

5.40 0.24 0.60 3.14 0.28 0.35 0.48 0.31

Bachelor's degree and higher

4.68 0.38 0.54 2.34 0.40 0.24 0.45 0.34

Bachelor's degree only

4.76 0.38 0.56 2.44 0.36 0.24 0.45 0.33

Advanced degree

4.56 0.37 0.51 2.19 0.46 0.23 0.44 0.35

Footnotes
(1) Includes other leisure and sports activities, not elsewhere classified, and travel related to leisure and sports activities.
(2) The earnings data are limited to wage and salary workers (both incorporated and unincorporated self-employed workers are excluded). Each earnings range represents approximately 25 percent of full-time wage and salary workers who held only one job.

NOTE: Unless otherwise specified, data refer to persons 15 years and over. Persons of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity may be of any race.


Table 11B. Time spent in leisure and sports activities for the civilian population by selected characteristics, averages per day on weekdays and weekends, 2021 annual averages
Characteristic Average hours per day spent in leisure and sports activities, weekdays and weekends
Total, all leisure and sports activities Participating in
sports, exercise and
recreation
Socializing and
communicating
Watching TV Reading Relaxing/
thinking
Playing games
and computer
use for leisure
Other leisure
and sports
activities,
including
travel(1)
Week-
days
Week-
ends
and
holi-
days
Week-
days
Week-
ends
and
holi-
days
Week-
days
Week-
ends
and
holi-
days
Week-
days
Week-
ends
and
holi-
days
Week-
days
Week-
ends
and
holi-
days
Week-
days
Week-
ends
and
holi-
days
Week-
days
Week-
ends
and
holi-
days
Week-
days
Week-
ends
and
holi-
days

Sex

Men

5.01 7.04 0.38 0.43 0.37 0.88 2.70 3.83 0.23 0.23 0.35 0.34 0.66 0.77 0.31 0.57

Women

4.44 6.13 0.23 0.26 0.50 0.90 2.44 3.29 0.29 0.38 0.32 0.37 0.41 0.47 0.24 0.47

Age

Total, 15 years and over

4.72 6.57 0.31 0.34 0.43 0.89 2.57 3.55 0.26 0.31 0.34 0.35 0.53 0.61 0.28 0.52

15 to 19 years

5.28 6.79 0.70 0.58 0.62 0.89 1.78 2.37 0.15 0.17 0.33 0.29 1.28 1.80 0.41 0.70

20 to 24 years

4.25 6.43 0.27 0.37 0.52 0.95 1.68 2.79 0.12 0.23 0.22 0.14 1.09 0.96 0.35 0.99

25 to 34 years

3.89 5.88 0.34 0.40 0.39 0.90 1.86 2.83 0.13 0.14 0.25 0.24 0.65 0.86 0.27 0.50

35 to 44 years

3.21 5.67 0.27 0.29 0.39 0.99 1.68 3.08 0.15 0.17 0.25 0.31 0.29 0.38 0.18 0.45

45 to 54 years

3.80 6.28 0.23 0.35 0.40 0.94 2.13 3.55 0.24 0.30 0.32 0.40 0.27 0.29 0.19 0.46

55 to 64 years

4.93 6.66 0.22 0.27 0.44 0.92 3.02 4.09 0.29 0.31 0.37 0.40 0.33 0.31 0.27 0.36

65 to 74 years

6.60 7.58 0.31 0.31 0.40 0.75 4.18 4.59 0.48 0.51 0.46 0.47 0.42 0.47 0.34 0.48

75 years and over

7.43 8.46 0.26 0.25 0.45 0.66 4.63 5.20 0.64 0.81 0.56 0.60 0.53 0.42 0.35 0.53

Race and Hispanic or
Latino ethnicity

White

4.72 6.64 0.33 0.34 0.44 0.93 2.54 3.53 0.29 0.33 0.30 0.33 0.53 0.62 0.29 0.55

Black or African American

5.08 6.74 0.16 0.24 0.46 0.71 3.17 4.26 0.17 0.13 0.58 0.49 0.33 0.46 0.21 0.45

Asian

3.81 5.52 0.33 0.57 0.31 0.68 1.69 2.65 0.23 (2)- 0.29 0.34 0.72 0.55 0.25 0.32

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

4.25 6.15 0.34 0.24 0.45 1.04 2.29 3.20 0.09 0.12 0.30 0.39 0.47 0.50 0.31 0.65

Employment status

Employed

3.49 5.92 0.25 0.36 0.38 0.93 1.79 3.11 0.17 0.21 0.27 0.29 0.42 0.54 0.21 0.49

Full-time workers

3.20 5.91 0.24 0.35 0.34 0.93 1.70 3.15 0.16 0.19 0.26 0.28 0.34 0.51 0.17 0.49

Part-time workers

4.63 5.94 0.25 0.38 0.57 0.92 2.17 2.94 0.23 0.28 0.32 0.31 0.75 0.63 0.34 0.48

Not employed

6.64 7.60 0.40 0.32 0.52 0.83 3.79 4.25 0.40 0.45 0.44 0.46 0.70 0.74 0.39 0.57

Usual weekly earnings of full-time wage
and salary workers
(single jobholders only)(3)

$0 - $690

3.40 5.75 0.17 0.22 0.33 0.96 1.73 3.14 0.11 0.13 0.36 0.27 0.50 0.67 0.20 0.37

$691 - $1,080

3.21 6.14 0.18 0.29 0.37 0.77 1.88 3.66 0.11 0.12 0.23 0.23 0.32 0.55 0.13 0.53

$1,081 - $1,730

3.19 6.27 0.23 0.39 0.37 1.04 1.68 3.21 0.20 0.22 0.23 0.31 0.33 0.51 0.15 0.59

$1,731 and higher

3.02 5.82 0.36 0.47 0.25 1.01 1.52 2.81 0.23 0.32 0.22 0.32 0.26 0.43 0.18 0.47

Presence and age of
household children

No household children under 18

5.32 7.08 0.32 0.32 0.42 0.83 2.99 3.99 0.33 0.37 0.35 0.38 0.59 0.66 0.31 0.53

Household children under 18

3.54 5.60 0.28 0.39 0.46 0.99 1.74 2.72 0.14 0.18 0.30 0.30 0.41 0.52 0.21 0.49

Children 13 to 17 years, none younger

4.30 6.16 0.36 0.36 0.48 0.86 2.05 3.11 0.11 0.24 0.30 0.39 0.68 0.72 0.32 0.48

Children 6 to 12 years, none younger

3.66 5.85 0.29 0.47 0.53 0.96 1.68 2.78 0.21 0.20 0.35 0.26 0.38 0.57 0.21 0.61

Youngest child under 6 years

2.96 5.00 0.21 0.35 0.39 1.10 1.59 2.41 0.10 0.12 0.26 0.28 0.26 0.34 0.15 0.40

Marital status and sex

Married, spouse present

4.39 6.32 0.27 0.36 0.42 0.94 2.49 3.51 0.29 0.33 0.33 0.36 0.35 0.37 0.25 0.44

Men

4.64 6.71 0.31 0.43 0.36 0.93 2.70 3.85 0.28 0.26 0.36 0.37 0.35 0.39 0.29 0.48

Women

4.14 5.89 0.23 0.28 0.49 0.95 2.28 3.15 0.30 0.41 0.30 0.36 0.35 0.36 0.20 0.39

Other marital statuses

5.06 6.83 0.34 0.33 0.45 0.84 2.65 3.59 0.24 0.28 0.35 0.35 0.72 0.86 0.31 0.60

Men

5.42 7.42 0.46 0.43 0.38 0.82 2.71 3.81 0.18 0.19 0.35 0.29 1.00 1.21 0.33 0.66

Women

4.74 6.35 0.24 0.23 0.51 0.85 2.60 3.41 0.28 0.35 0.35 0.39 0.47 0.56 0.29 0.55

Educational attainment,
25 years and over

Less than a high school diploma

5.29 6.90 0.21 0.17 0.43 1.01 3.60 4.33 0.09 0.07 0.53 0.84 0.25 0.16 0.18 0.32

High school graduates, no college

5.29 7.07 0.20 0.26 0.38 0.80 3.33 4.49 0.24 0.20 0.45 0.47 0.42 0.41 0.27 0.43

Some college or associate degree

4.88 6.65 0.22 0.30 0.46 0.95 2.89 3.73 0.25 0.34 0.36 0.32 0.46 0.53 0.24 0.47

Bachelor's degree and higher

4.08 6.10 0.37 0.39 0.40 0.88 2.03 3.08 0.38 0.45 0.23 0.26 0.41 0.54 0.27 0.49

Bachelor's degree only

4.14 6.18 0.38 0.38 0.44 0.85 2.09 3.25 0.35 0.38 0.22 0.28 0.39 0.59 0.28 0.45

Advanced degree

3.99 5.97 0.36 0.42 0.35 0.92 1.94 2.82 0.42 0.56 0.24 0.22 0.43 0.47 0.27 0.56

Footnotes
(1) Includes other leisure and sports activities, not elsewhere classified, and travel related to leisure and sports activities.
(2) Estimate is suppressed because it does not meet the American Time Use Survey publication standards.
(3) The earnings data are limited to wage and salary workers (both incorporated and unincorporated self-employed workers are excluded). Each earnings range represents approximately 25 percent of full-time wage and salary workers who held only one job.

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 for the civilian population, 2021 quarterly and annual averages [Not seasonally adjusted]
Activity 2021
Quarterly averages Annual
average
I II III IV

Total, all activities(1)

24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00 24.00

Personal care activities

9.83 9.61 9.67 9.70 9.70

Sleeping(2)

9.12 8.90 8.91 8.88 8.95

Eating and drinking

1.13 1.19 1.20 1.22 1.19

Household activities

1.80 2.07 1.97 1.94 1.95

Housework

0.57 0.60 0.53 0.60 0.58

Food preparation and cleanup

0.66 0.64 0.66 0.62 0.64

Lawn and garden care

0.08 0.33 0.25 0.15 0.20

Household management

0.13 0.15 0.16 0.14 0.14

Purchasing goods and services

0.59 0.72 0.68 0.73 0.68

Consumer goods purchases

0.26 0.33 0.31 0.36 0.32

Professional and personal care services

0.09 0.09 0.07 0.10 0.09

Caring for and helping household members

0.47 0.47 0.44 0.50 0.47

Caring for and helping household children

0.40 0.36 0.34 0.38 0.37

Caring for and helping nonhousehold members

0.14 0.23 0.18 0.17 0.18

Caring for and helping nonhousehold adults

0.05 0.08 0.07 0.07 0.06

Working and work-related activities

3.54 3.39 3.54 3.52 3.50

Working

3.29 3.14 3.20 3.26 3.22

Educational activities

0.56 0.29 0.27 0.59 0.43

Attending class

0.28 0.13 0.12 0.28 0.20

Homework and research

0.26 0.14 0.13 0.27 0.20

Organizational, civic, and religious activities

0.21 0.22 0.23 0.24 0.23

Religious and spiritual activities

0.11 0.09 0.13 0.12 0.11

Volunteering (organizational and civic activities)

0.08 0.10 0.08 0.10 0.09

Leisure and sports

5.31 5.44 5.36 4.96 5.27

Socializing and communicating

0.40 0.65 0.61 0.60 0.57

Watching television

3.19 2.74 2.80 2.71 2.86

Participating in sports, exercise, and recreation

0.30 0.40 0.34 0.23 0.32

Telephone calls, mail, and e-mail

0.22 0.22 0.19 0.21 0.21

Other activities, not elsewhere classified

0.19 0.16 0.25 0.20 0.20

Footnotes
(1) All major activity categories include related travel time. See Technical Note for activity category definitions.
(2) Includes naps and spells of sleeplessness.

NOTE: A primary activity refers to an individual's main activity. Other activities done simultaneously are not included. Data refer to persons 15 years and over.


Last Modified Date: June 23, 2022