Average Weekly Hours — Total Private
Average weekly hours measure paid hours per private-sector employee in the BLS establishment survey. Hours respond to overtime, part-time schedules, absences and stoppages. Because changing schedules is cheaper than changing headcount, the workweek often turns before payroll employment.
Average weekly hours
Next release: Sep 4, 2026
Latest reading
As of July 2026, Weekly Hours (Average weekly hours) stands at 34.3 hrs — unchanged from 34.3 hrs the prior reading, 2.0% below the January 2021 record of 35.0 hrs. Falling hours below their twelve-month trend can be an early sign that employers are trimming labor input even while payrolls still grow. Rising hours indicate stronger utilization and may precede hiring if demand persists. The series moves in tenths, so multi-month direction matters more than one print. Series history runs from 2006 to present.
Sources, methodology & freshnessLast updated 2026-08-21 · Open ↓Close ↑
Full history
Methodology & data
Weekly Hours is sourced from BLS via the Federal Reserve's FRED service (BLS Current Employment Statistics via FRED (AWHAETP), monthly, seasonally adjusted). We pull the complete history, chart it on a monthly basis, overlay SPY for context, and generate a dated plain-English reading from the latest release — with no smoothing or adjustment beyond what the chart legend states.
Every reading is stamped with its release date, last updated 2026-08-21. Maintained and reviewed by Yuriy Matso; see our methodology for the standards every series on the site is held to.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Average Weekly Hours — Total Private?
Average weekly hours measure paid hours per private-sector employee in the BLS establishment survey. Hours respond to overtime, part-time schedules, absences and stoppages. Because changing schedules is cheaper than changing headcount, the workweek often turns before payroll employment.
How do you read Weekly Hours?
Falling hours below their twelve-month trend can be an early sign that employers are trimming labor input even while payrolls still grow. Rising hours indicate stronger utilization and may precede hiring if demand persists. The series moves in tenths, so multi-month direction matters more than one print.
Where does the Weekly Hours data come from?
BLS Current Employment Statistics via FRED (AWHAETP), monthly, seasonally adjusted. We chart the full history and publish a dated, plain-English reading with every release; the raw series is downloadable as CSV at /data/indicators/average-weekly-hours.csv.
How often is Weekly Hours updated?
Weekly Hours is a monthly series from BLS, refreshed here as soon as a new release posts to FRED.
Average weekly hours
Next release: Sep 4, 2026