68.8 percent of people who worked in 2016 worked full time, year round
December 08, 2017
A total of 163.6 million people worked at some point during 2016. The proportion of workers who worked full time, year round (that is, 50 to 52 weeks) in 2016 was 68.8 percent, up 0.8 percentage point from the prior year. Among men who worked in 2016, 74.7 percent worked full time, year round, compared with 62.2 percent of women.
| Extent of employment | Total | Men | Women | White men | White women | Black or African American men |
Black or African American women |
Asian men | Asian women | Hispanic or Latino men |
Hispanic or Latino women |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total who worked during the year |
100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
|
Full time, 50 to 52 weeks |
68.8 | 74.7 | 62.2 | 75.1 | 61.2 | 71.7 | 66.5 | 79.5 | 67.1 | 75.4 | 61.0 |
|
Full time, 27 to 49 weeks |
6.6 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 6.7 | 6.8 | 6.4 | 6.0 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 7.9 | 6.3 |
|
Full time, 1 to 26 weeks |
4.4 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 6.2 | 5.1 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 5.3 |
|
Part time, 50 to 52 weeks |
10.7 | 7.1 | 14.6 | 7.0 | 15.3 | 7.8 | 11.8 | 6.1 | 12.9 | 6.8 | 15.2 |
|
Part time, 27 to 49 weeks |
4.0 | 2.7 | 5.5 | 2.8 | 5.9 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 1.9 | 4.4 | 2.1 | 5.1 |
|
Part time, 1 to 26 weeks |
5.5 | 4.3 | 6.8 | 4.1 | 6.8 | 5.0 | 6.8 | 3.6 | 5.7 | 3.7 | 7.1 |
Among those who worked in 2016, 79.8 percent usually worked full time, little changed from a year earlier. In 2016, men (85.8 percent) continued to be more likely than women (73.1 percent) to work full time during the year. Asians (83.0 percent) were more likely to work full time than Whites (79.6 percent), Blacks (80.7 percent), and Hispanics (81.0 percent).
Of those who worked during 2016, 79.4 percent were employed year round, up from 78.6 percent in 2015. In 2016, the percentages of both men (81.8 percent) and women (76.8 percent) working year round increased from a year earlier.
These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see "Work Experience of the Population — 2016" (HTML) (PDF). Full time means 35 hours or more per week. People whose ethnicity is Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.
SUGGESTED CITATION
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, 68.8 percent of people who worked in 2016 worked full time, year round on the Internet at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2017/68-point-8-percent-of-people-who-worked-in-2016-worked-full-time-year-round.htm (visited October 22, 2018).
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