Key numbers
- The average private-sector employee works 34.4 hours a week (August 2026). BLS
- Mining and logging has the longest average week at 45.7 hours; leisure and hospitality the shortest at 25.4. BLS
- Manufacturing production workers average 4.0 hours of overtime a week. BLS
- Full-time workers put in 8.07 hours on the days they work, rising to 8.45 hours on weekdays. BLS ATUS
- 30% of employed people work on an average weekend day. BLS ATUS
- 80% of private industry workers have access to paid vacation — but only 40% of part-time workers do. BLS
- The Department of Labor recovered $146.4 million in unpaid overtime for 110,551 workers in fiscal year 2025. DOL
- 8.8 million people — 5.4% of the employed — hold more than one job. BLS
Average weekly hours
Across all private industries, employees averaged 34.4 hours a week in August 2026, up from 34.2 a year earlier (BLS series CES0500000002). Production and nonsupervisory employees — roughly the hourly workforce — averaged 33.8 hours (CES0500000007).
That figure is lower than most people expect because it is an average per job, including part-time jobs, not per full-time worker. About 28.5 million of the 162.8 million employed usually work part time — around 17.5% (BLS).
Weekly hours by industry
Average weekly hours of all employees, seasonally adjusted. August 2026 figures are preliminary and may be revised.
| Industry | Aug 2026 | Aug 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mining and logging | 45.7 | 45.4 | +0.3 |
| Manufacturing | 40.5 | 40.0 | +0.5 |
| Construction | 39.5 | 38.9 | +0.6 |
| Wholesale trade | 39.4 | 39.1 | +0.3 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 37.9 | 38.3 | −0.4 |
| Financial activities | 37.7 | 37.5 | +0.2 |
| Information | 37.2 | 37.3 | −0.1 |
| Professional and business services | 36.8 | 36.5 | +0.3 |
| All private industries | 34.4 | 34.2 | +0.2 |
| Education and health services | 32.7 | 32.7 | 0.0 |
| Other services | 32.3 | 31.9 | +0.4 |
| Retail trade | 30.0 | 30.0 | 0.0 |
| Leisure and hospitality | 25.4 | 25.5 | −0.1 |
The gap between the longest and shortest average weeks is 20.3 hours a week. Remember these are averages per job: an industry with many part-time roles, such as restaurants and retail, will show a short average week even where full-time staff work long hours.
Overtime
BLS publishes regular overtime figures for manufacturing, where overtime is tracked most closely:
| Manufacturing | Aug 2026 | Aug 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Average weekly overtime, all employees | 3.1 hours | 2.9 hours |
| Average weekly overtime, production employees | 4.0 hours | 3.7 hours |
| Average weekly hours, production employees | 41.7 hours | 41.0 hours |
At the average private-sector wage of $37.75 an hour (August 2026, CES0500000003), one hour of overtime at time and a half is worth $56.63. Four hours a week at that rate is about $226.50 — roughly $11,800 a year. Work out your own figure with the overtime calculator.
The average workday
From the American Time Use Survey, 2025 annual averages, for people on the days they worked (BLS ATUS table 4):
| Group | All days | Weekdays | Weekends and holidays |
|---|---|---|---|
| All employed | 7.66 hrs | 8.02 hrs | 5.41 hrs |
| Full-time | 8.07 hrs | 8.45 hrs | 5.49 hrs |
| Part-time | 5.36 hrs | 5.42 hrs | 5.11 hrs |
| Men, full-time | 8.24 hrs | 8.64 hrs | 5.33 hrs |
| Women, full-time | 7.86 hrs | 8.20 hrs | 5.67 hrs |
A full-time weekday of 8.45 hours is 8 hours 27 minutes — see the minutes to decimal chart for converting others.
Weekend and at-home work
- 81% of employed people worked on an average weekday, compared with 30% on an average weekend day (2025) (BLS ATUS).
- On the days they worked, 35% of employed people did some or all of their work at home. Women (38%) were more likely than men (31%) to work at home (BLS ATUS).
- 5.4% of employed people — 8.8 million — held more than one job in August 2026 (BLS). Overtime is generally assessed per employer, so hours at two unrelated employers are not added together.
Paid time off: who gets it
Share of private industry workers with access to paid leave, March 2025 (BLS Employee Benefits Survey, table 6):
| Workers | Paid vacation | Paid sick leave | Paid holidays |
|---|---|---|---|
| All private industry | 80% | 80% | 81% |
| Full-time | 93% | 88% | 92% |
| Part-time | 40% | 56% | 50% |
| Lowest 10% of wages | 43% | 41% | 49% |
| Highest 10% of wages | 95% | 96% | 95% |
The top tenth of earners are more than twice as likely to get paid vacation as the bottom tenth. For how accrual adds up once you have it, see how PTO accrual works.
Unpaid overtime: what the Department of Labor recovers
Back wages recovered by the Wage and Hour Division under the Fair Labor Standards Act for overtime violations (DOL WHD):
| Fiscal year | Overtime back wages | Workers owed | Average per worker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $146,377,245 | 110,551 | $1,324 |
| 2024 | $126,967,097 | 101,043 | $1,257 |
| 2023 | $130,686,461 | 106,759 | $1,224 |
- Overtime made up 79% of all FLSA back wages in FY2025 ($146.4 million of $184.4 million), dwarfing minimum wage violations ($27.5 million).
- Overtime recoveries rose 15% from FY2024 to FY2025.
- Across all the laws it enforces, the Wage and Hour Division recovered $259.3 million for 176,957 workers in FY2025, from 16,924 concluded compliance actions (DOL WHD).
These are only the cases the Department of Labor investigated and concluded; they do not measure how much overtime goes unpaid overall. Common causes include uncounted work before or after a shift, one-sided time clock rounding and bonuses left out of the regular rate.
Sources and methodology
- Weekly hours, overtime and earnings: BLS Current Employment Statistics, seasonally adjusted, retrieved from the BLS public data API. August 2026 figures are preliminary.
- Part-time share and multiple jobholders: BLS Current Population Survey, seasonally adjusted, August 2026.
- Daily hours, weekend and at-home work: BLS American Time Use Survey, 2025 annual averages, released June 2026.
- Paid leave access: BLS Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2025.
- Back wages: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division enforcement data, fiscal years 2023–2025.
Derived figures — the value of an overtime hour, averages per worker, percentage shares and changes — are our own calculations from the source numbers above. Figures are the latest available on 25 September 2026.
Using these statistics? You are welcome to quote them. Please cite the original source linked beside each figure, and link to this page: https://tallymyhours.com/work-hours-statistics
Common questions
How many hours a week does the average American work?
The average private-sector employee worked 34.4 hours a week in August 2026, according to BLS. That average includes part-time jobs; full-time workers average about 8.1 hours on the days they work.
Which industry works the longest hours?
Mining and logging, at an average of 45.7 hours a week in August 2026, followed by manufacturing at 40.5 and construction at 39.5. Leisure and hospitality has the shortest average week at 25.4 hours.
How much overtime do workers get?
Manufacturing production employees averaged 4.0 hours of overtime a week in August 2026. BLS publishes regular overtime figures only for manufacturing.
How much unpaid overtime does the Department of Labor recover?
In fiscal year 2025 the Wage and Hour Division recovered $146.4 million in overtime back wages for 110,551 workers, about $1,324 per worker.
What percentage of workers get paid vacation?
80% of private industry workers had access to paid vacation in March 2025: 93% of full-time workers but only 40% of part-time workers.