September 22, 2005 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

The average day in 2004

On an "average day" in the U.S. in 2004, persons age 15 and older slept about 8.6 hours, spent 5.2 hours doing leisure and sports activities, worked for 3.7 hours, and spent 1.8 hours doing household activities.

[Chart data—TXT]

The remaining 4.7 hours were spent in a variety of other activities, including eating and drinking, attending school, and shopping.

The American Time Use Survey collects data about daily activities from all segments of the population age 15 and over, including persons who are employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force (such as students or retirees). Data are collected for both weekdays and weekends. Thus, "average day" measures developed for the entire population reflect the average distribution of time across all persons and days.

On an average weekday, in comparison, persons employed full time spent 9.2 hours working, 7.5 hours sleeping, 3.0 hours doing leisure and sports activities, and 0.9 hour doing household activities. The remaining 3.4 hours were spent in other activities, such as those described above.

The American Time Use Survey is the source of these data on time use. You can find out more about how various segments of population spent their time in American Time Use Survey — 2004 (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 05-1766. These data are for persons 15 years old and over.