For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Friday, June 24, 2016 USDL-16-1250
Technical information: (202) 691-6339 * atusinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/tus
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
AMERICAN TIME USE SURVEY -- 2015 RESULTS
In 2015, 38 percent of workers in management, business, and financial operations
occupations, and 35 percent of those employed in professional and related occupations,
did some or all of their work from home on days they worked, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. Workers employed in other occupations were less likely to
work from home on days they worked.
These and other results from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) were released today.
These data include the average amount of time per day in 2015 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--for the combined years 2011-2015 are
provided. For a further description of ATUS data and methodology, see the Technical Note.
Working (by Employed Persons) in 2015
--Employed persons worked an average of 7.6 hours on the days they worked. More hours
were worked, on average, on weekdays than on weekend days--8.0 hours compared with
5.6 hours. (See table 4.)
--On the days they worked, employed men worked 42 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 longer than women--8.2 hours compared with 7.8 hours. (See table 4.)
--On the days they worked, 82 percent of employed persons did some or all of their
work at their workplace and 24 percent did some or all of their work at home. Employed
persons spent more time working at the workplace than at home--8.0 hours compared with
3.2 hours. (See table 6.)
--The share of workers doing some or all of their work at home grew from 19 percent
in 2003--the first year the ATUS was conducted--to 24 percent in 2015. In this same
period, the average time employed persons spent working at home on days they worked
increased by 40 minutes (from 2.6 hours to 3.2 hours). (See table 6.)
--Compared to workers with less education, employed persons age 25 and over with a
bachelor’s degree or higher were the least likely to work at their workplace on days
they worked (74 percent), and they were the most likely to do some or all of their
work from home (39 percent). By comparison, 94 percent of workers with less than a
high school diploma worked at their workplace on days they worked and 7 percent worked
from home. (See table 6.)
--On the days they worked, 38 percent of persons employed in management, business, and
financial operations and 35 percent of those employed in professional and related
occupations did some or all of their work from home. Workers employed in other
occupations were less likely to work from home on days they worked. (See table 7.)
--Multiple jobholders were more likely to work on an average day than were single
jobholders--80 percent compared with 67 percent. (For a definition of 'average day,'
see the Technical Note.) Multiple jobholders also were more likely to work at home
than were single jobholders--36 percent compared with 23 percent. (See table 6.)
Household Activities in 2015
--On an average day, 85 percent of women and 67 percent of men spent some time doing
household activities such as housework, cooking, lawn care, or financial and other
household management. (See table 1.)
--On the days they did household activities, women spent an average of 2.6 hours on
such activities, while men spent 2.1 hours. (See table 1.)
--On an average day, 22 percent of men did housework--such as cleaning or laundry--compared
with 50 percent of women. Forty-three percent of men did food preparation or cleanup,
compared with 70 percent of women. Men were slightly more likely to engage in lawn and
garden care than were women--12 percent compared with 8 percent. (See table 1.)
--From 2003 to 2015, the share of men doing food preparation and cleanup on an average
day increased from 35 percent to 43 percent. The average time per day men spent doing
food preparation and cleanup increased by 5 minutes, from 16 minutes in 2003 to 21
minutes in 2015. (See table 1.)
--From 2003 to 2015, the share of women doing housework on an average day decreased
from 54 percent to 50 percent. The average time per day women spent doing housework
declined from 58 minutes in 2003 to 52 minutes in 2015. (See table 1.)
Leisure Activities in 2015
--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 (5.8 hours)
than did women (5.1 hours). (See table 1.)
--Watching TV was the leisure activity that occupied the most time (2.8 hours per day),
accounting for more than half of leisure time, on average, for those age 15 and over.
Socializing, such as visiting with friends or attending or hosting social events, was
the next most common leisure activity, accounting for 41 minutes per day. (See table 1.)
--Men were more likely than women to participate in sports, exercise, or recreation on
a given day--23 percent compared with 18 percent. On days they participated, men also
spent more time in these activities than did women--1.7 hours compared with 1.2 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; 35- to 44-year-olds spent 4.0 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 20 minutes playing games or using a computer for leisure.
Conversely, individuals ages 15 to 19 read for an average of 8 minutes per weekend day
and spent 1.3 hours playing games or using a computer for leisure. (See table 11.)
--Employed adults living in households with no children under age 18 engaged in leisure
activities for 4.5 hours per day, 1.1 hours more than employed adults living with a
child under age 6. (See table 8B.)
Care of Household Children for the period 2011-2015
--Adults living in households with children under age 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--49 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 1.0 hour providing physical care (such as bathing or feeding a child) to household
children; by contrast, men spent 25 minutes providing physical care. (See table 9.)
--Adults living in households with at least one child under age 6 spent an average of 5.3
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 6 was most commonly
provided while doing leisure activities (2.1 hours) or household activities (1.3 hours).
(See table 10.)
--Adults living in households with children under age 6 spent more time providing primary
childcare on an average weekday (2.1 hours) than on an average weekend day (1.8 hours).
However, they spent less time providing secondary childcare on weekdays than on weekend
days--4.5 hours compared with 7.4 hours. (See tables 9 and 10.)
Additional Data
ATUS 2015 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,
identifying information does not appear on the data files. The 2015 data files are available
on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/tus/data.htm.
