> Miles Jackson wrote:
>
> "In the U. S., it's an irrefutable fact that the average worker is
> working far, far more than the average worker in previous generations
> (we're about 400 hrs/yr higher than workers in the 1970s, if I recall
> correctly; Doug will probably check)."
>
> Far from being an irrefutable fact, it is wrong.
>
> hours of work per week
> UNITED STATES
>
> 37.7 1969
[...]
> 34.1 2002
============================
Does this correlate to an increase in the proportion of part-time workers,
eg. 30 hours or less, or is the widespread perception of a huge increase in
voluntary and involuntary part-time employment also wrong?
If a worker holds two part-time jobs, how is this taken into account in calculating "total hours worked" by all workers in relation to the workforce? Referring back to my earlier posting, does this represent one worker working a 50 hour week or two workers (conceptually), the one working an average 20 hours and the other an average 30 hours per week?
Is there data showing the incidence of moonlighting and whether it has increased?
Finally, the other contemporary phenomenon is the growth of so-called "independent contracters" who are actually employees except that the employer has removed them from the payroll in order to cut their pay and benefits while retaining their services. This abuse is still widespread despite the efforts of unions and government tax collectors to curb it. Are the hours of work of such employees calculated in the hours worked and workforce totals?
Sorry to throw all these questions at you, Doug, and others with the expertise, but if you have the info at hand that would be helpful.