Research Summary: The 40-hour work week may seem tough at times, but would you believe it’s a modern luxury we actually take for granted? Between 1880-1890, the average American worker was on the job for 60-100 hours every week.
However, that doesn’t mean many Americans aren’t overworking themselves today. From grinding for that next promotion to taking overtime to afford a new transmission, average work hours can deviate significantly from the standard 40.
To find out more, we’ve gathered all of the essential trends and statistics about average working hours, and according to our extensive research:
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The average US worker clocks in 1,791 hours of work per year.
That’s equivalent to 34.4 hours per week, which is actually higher than most European averages. In fact, Europeans, on the whole, work 12.6% fewer hours than their American counterparts, at 1,565 on average.
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Between 1970 and 2021, hours worked by US citizens decreased by just over 5%.
In 1970, the average worker worked 1,891 hours per year, which, while down from the staggering 3,150-3,650 hours worked per year in 1850, is still more than the average American today.
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The average American will work 34.4 hours per week in 2022.
This average has remained fairly steady since 2006, with a high of 35 hours on average in January 2021 and a low of 33.70 hours in June 2009.
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The Mining and logging industry has the highest average hours worked, at 46.6 hours per week.
This is then followed by Manufacturing (40.2), Financial activities (37.2), and Professional and business services (36.5). Conversely, the Leisure and hospitality industry have the fewest average hours worked, at only 25.5.
Industry Average hours worked (Nov. 2021) Average hours worked (Nov. 2022) Total Private 34.8 34.4 Mining and logging 45.0 46.6 Construction 39.0 38.4 Manufacturing 40.3 40.2 Trade, transportation, and utilities 34.5 34.1 Information 36.8 36.2 Financial Activities 37.4 37.2 Professional and business services 36.7 36.5 Education and health services 33.4 33.3 Leisure and hospitality 26.2 25.5 -
Mexico has the highest average work hours out of all OECD countries at 2,127 per year.
That’s equal to 40.9 hours per week, with other workaholic OECD countries including Costa Rica (2,073), Chile (1,915), South Korea (1,915), and Malta (1,882).
Country Average annual hours worked. Average weekly hours worked. Mexico 2,127 40.9 Costa Rica 2,073 39.9 Chile 1,915 36.2 South Korea 1,915 36.2 Malta 1,882 36.2 -
Working hours last peaked in 2000, when they reached an average of 1,845 in the US.
Between 2000 and 2022, average working hours decreased by 2.9%. Today, average working hours are similar to working hours in 1990, which saw an average of 1,796 hours per year.
Year Average annual working hours 1970 1,891 1975 1,812 1980 1,801 1985 1,801 1990 1,796 1995 1,818 2000 1,845 2005 1,787 2010 1,736 2015 1,765 2022 1,791 -
The US ranks as the 10th highest OECD country by average hours worked.
While American citizens don’t work as many hours as Mexican or Costa Rican citizens, they still rank tenth out of 38 countries. On the other hand, all of the countries with the fewest average hours worked are in Europe, with Germany ranking the lowest.
Country 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 Mexico 2,127 2,123 2,138 2,149 2,148 Costa Rica 2,073 1,913 2,059 2,121 2,178 Chile 1,915 1,825 1,929 1,955 1,963 South Korea 1,915 1,908 1,967 1,993 2,018 Malta 1,882 1,902 2,062 1,972 1,942 Greece 1,872 1,730 1,916 1,961 1,946 Romania 1,838 1,806 1,803 1,787 1,785 Croatia 1,835 1,833 1,837 1,811 1,823 Poland 1,830 1,768 1,782 1,787 1,811 United States 1,791 1,767 1,777 1,781 1,777 Ireland 1,775 1,746 1,771 1,782 1,775 Estonia 1,767 1,637 1,694 1,707 1,768 Czech Republic 1,752 1,703 1,786 1,784 1,776 Israel 1,752 1,782 1,898 1,910 1,918 Cyprus 1,745 1,701 1,809 1,809 1,821 New Zealand 1,730 1,739 1,783 1,759 1,756 Hungary 1,697 1,657 1,722 1,729 1,747 Australia 1,694 1,683 1,722 1,732 1,738 Canada 1,685 1,644 1,690 1,708 1,695 Italy 1,668 1,553 1,710 1,719 1,719 Portugal 1,648 1,611 1,743 1,737 1,727 Spain 1,640 1,569 1,682 1,697 1,692 Lithuania 1,620 1,594 1,665 1,664 1,656 Bulgaria 1,619 1,604 1,645 1,644 1,643 Japan 1,607 1,598 1,643 1,680 1,708 Latvia 1,601 1,576 1,631 1,661 1,649 Slovenia 1,596 1,533 1,601 1,599 1,621 Slovak Republic 1,583 1,572 1,692 1,703 1,713 Switzerland 1,533 1,498 1,549 1,551 1,559 Finland 1,518 1,528 1,538 1,546 1,548 United Kingdom 1,497 1,363 1,537 1,536 1,535 Belgium 1,493 1,443 1,577 1,580 1,578 France 1,490 1,407 1,518 1,514 1,507 Sweden 1,444 1,426 1,453 1,466 1,466 Austria 1,442 1,400 1,508 1,502 1,498 Iceland 1,433 1,446 1,480 1,496 1,507 Norway 1,427 1,410 1,418 1,419 1,419 Netherlands 1,416 1,406 1,438 1,436 1,436 Luxembourg 1,382 1,420 1,507 1,509 1,508 Denmark 1,363 1,342 1,371 1,381 1,404 Germany 1,349 1,324 1,381 1,384 1,389
Average Working Hours FAQ
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What are typical work hours?
Typical work hours in the US are 40 hours per week for full-time employees and fewer than 35 hours per week for part-time employees. This weekly schedule usually manifests as working eight hours per day for five days a week. Part-time employees often work eight hours per day as well, but for fewer days so they don’t go over 30-35 hours.
Over the course of a year, a full-time employee would work at least 2,080 hours in total. The 40-hour work week was created and normalized in 1940 when congress amended the Fair Labor Standards Act by reducing work week hours from 44 to 40.
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Is the average work day 8 hours?
Yes, the average work day is 8 hours. However, because many Americans take overtime or can be mandated at their jobs, the average hours worked per day in the US is actually 8.8 hours.
On the other hand, not every shift is required to be scheduled for eight hours. Some shifts (especially for part-time employees) can vary anywhere from 7.5 hours to only four hours total.
Conclusion
On a steady decline for the past 20 years, Americans now work an average of 1,791 hours per year (34.4 hours per week). That’s 2.9% fewer hours compared to 2000 and 5% fewer compared to 1970.
Today, the US ranks as the tenth highest OECD country by average hours worked. Americans work 32.7% more hours than Germans, who work the fewest hours on average. While on the other hand, Americans also work 15.8% fewer hours than Mexicans, who work the most hours on average.
Overall though, no one can disagree that we’re better off now than we were working over 3,000 hours on average in 1850. And though many still believe that average working hours should further be reduced, we should also acknowledge that we’ve come a long way.
References
- Statistics
- Employee Retention Statistics
- Happy Employees Are More Productive
- Workplace Distraction Statistics
- Average Freelancer Rates
- Average Working Hours
- Offboarding Statistics
- Employee Productivity Statistics
- Workplace Microagression Statistics
- Employee Monitoring Statistics
- Employee Training And Development Statistics
- Lead Generation Statistics
Author
Jack Flynn
Jack Flynn is a writer for Zippia. In his professional career he’s written over 100 research papers, articles and blog posts. Some of his most popular published works include his writing about economic terms and research into job classifications. Jack received his BS from Hampshire College.
