Average hours fell more slowly in the U.S. than in other OECD countries over the past generation: Average hours worked per year, United States versus average of other OECD economies, 1979–2015
| United States | Other OECD countries | |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 100.0000 | 100.0000 |
| 1980 | 99.1252 | 99.4271 |
| 1981 | 98.6331 | 98.8021 |
| 1982 | 98.4691 | 98.4896 |
| 1983 | 99.5079 | 98.4375 |
| 1984 | 100.4921 | 98.4375 |
| 1985 | 100.3827 | 98.2292 |
| 1986 | 99.9453 | 97.9688 |
| 1987 | 100.2187 | 97.8646 |
| 1988 | 100.4374 | 97.9167 |
| 1989 | 101.0935 | 97.8125 |
| 1990 | 100.1093 | 96.9792 |
| 1991 | 99.5626 | 96.5625 |
| 1992 | 99.5626 | 96.4063 |
| 1993 | 100.0000 | 96.0417 |
| 1994 | 100.6014 | 96.3542 |
| 1995 | 100.6561 | 96.1458 |
| 1996 | 100.6014 | 96.3021 |
| 1997 | 100.8748 | 96.1979 |
| 1998 | 100.8748 | 95.8333 |
| 1999 | 100.6561 | 95.5729 |
| 2000 | 100.2734 | 95.2604 |
| 2001 | 99.0705 | 94.5313 |
| 2002 | 98.7972 | 94.1146 |
| 2003 | 98.2504 | 93.8542 |
| 2004 | 98.3598 | 93.9063 |
| 2005 | 98.1411 | 93.7500 |
| 2006 | 98.3051 | 93.7500 |
| 2007 | 98.1957 | 93.5938 |
| 2008 | 97.8130 | 93.3333 |
| 2009 | 96.3915 | 91.9271 |
| 2010 | 96.9929 | 92.3958 |
| 2011 | 97.4303 | 92.2917 |
| 2012 | 97.5943 | 92.1875 |
| 2013 | 97.4850 | 91.9271 |
| 2014 | 97.6490 | 91.8750 |
| 2015 | 97.6490 | 91.9792 |
Notes: OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries in this sample are those countries for which hours data are available for the years 1979 to 2015: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Hours are converted into an index equal to 100 in 1979. OECD average is unweighted.
Source: OECD data on average hours worked per year by country (OECD 2017)