> The average American employee works just 2 more hours a week than in
> 1982, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But Randy E. Ilg, a
> senior economist at the Bureau, says that figure probably understated
> the problem because women have been surging into the work force, and
> their generally shorter hours appear to have pulled down the average.
> Only in the workweek statistics by households does the increase jump off
> the page . . .
Aside from the 2 hour figure "understating the problem", it is the only
time in -- what? -- over 150 years that average annual hours INCREASED
over more than a decade. It is an unprecedented reversal of what had been
until recently an inexorable trend. Seen in that light, an increase of
"just" 2 hours a week is extraordinary. More light will be shed on
this issue by the forthcoming book _Working Time: International Trends,
Theory and Policy Perspectives_, edited by Lonnie Golden and Deborah
M. Figart, from Routledge in November 2000. I will gladly forward a table
of contents to anyone who's interested.
Tom Walker
Sandwichman and Deconsultant
215-2273
