Earlier this year, the U.S. Census Bureau released the results of its most recent “American Time Use Survey (ATUS),” an annual government report tabulating the various activities U.S. workers engage in during any given day. The survey, covering calendar year 2019 and conducted prior to the onset of the current coronavirus pandemic, reveals that 23.7% of fulltime employed persons (22.0% of men and 26.5% of women) worked at home on an average workday in 2019, the exact same percentage as the year before. Although most 2019 ATUS data tend to show only minor variations from 2018, the number of women working full time at home increased, while the number of women working part time at home correspondingly decreased.
Clearly, the pandemic has had major impacts on both the number of people working and for those that are, on their work patterns, with a huge increase in the number of Americans now working at home, at least for the short term. Assuming the Census Bureau continues to conduct the annual ATUS, the 2020 Survey results should provide some interesting insights on the impact of COVID-19 on working patterns, not to mention the 11 other categories that the ATUS covers.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.