Industries with the Longest Workweek
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- Updated December 8, 2023 2 min read
Ever feel like your workweek has outstretched the timeline of Inception? If clocking-in at dawn and clocking-out at starlight is all too familiar, you might be a contender for the longest workweek title. Or well, maybe you’ve just lost too many ‘Fortnite’ battles during work hours.
But how long does an average American workweek really take? In January 2023, it was 34.7 hours on average for all employees on private nonfarm* payrolls. The average working week is measured by dividing the total weekly hours by the employees paid for those hours.
While this figure is lower than the typical 40-hour workweek, some industries simply ask more time from their employees compared to others.
Mining and logging: The industry with the longest workweek
With a grueling 46.5 hours of work per week, the mining and logging industry was at the forefront of the January rankings.
Besides general physical demands of the job, miners and loggers may often work in remote locations. This can limit employees’ access to amenities and make it necessary for them to work longer hours.
Meeting production targets and resource extraction schedules is yet another factor that can contribute to the extended working hours for workers in this industry.
What’s more, researchers at the University of Illinois discovered that working shifts longer than 9 hours increased the likelihood of fatal injury among miners by 32%.
Next most time-consuming employers in 2023 were the utilities sector with 41.3 hours worked per week and the manufacturing industry, averaging 40.5 hours.
Among laborious utilities jobs, one may find power plant operators, engineers, technicians, or waste management workers.
A global perspective on average working hours
In 2022, the standard workweek around the world was 40 hours. The actual number of weekly work hours, however, varied by country.
Employees in Asia and South America often put in more hours at work than those in Europe. Singapore, for instance, was at the high end with an average of 44 hours per week, while the Netherlands and Italy were taking it easy with 36-hour workweeks in 2022.
For more of interesting job market stats and hiring trends, check out our #kickdata.
- Professional Writer
Julia is a professional writer, translator and graphic designer. She holds degrees in translation and interpretation, and has international work experience from a number of different countries in Europe as well as China and Panama. Julia formerly taught academic writing and as a graphic designer contributed to outlets such as The Business of Business. She has a passion for lifelong learning and good coffee.
