TED: The Editor's Desk

October 04, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Men’s and women’s work hours, 2005

Women are more likely than men to work part time—that is, fewer than 35 hours per week.

Weekly hours usually worked by sex, 2005 annual averages
[Chart data—TXT]

Women who worked part time made up one-fourth of all female wage and salary workers in 2005. In contrast, just 11 percent of men in wage and salary jobs worked part time. About two-thirds of female wage and salary workers worked 40 hours or more, while 86 percent of male workers worked at least 40 hours per week.

These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information see "Highlights of Women’s Earnings in 2005," BLS Report 995 (PDF 290K).

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