The NYT says they are, but I don't think the data support the case, at least not yet. The article reports that the average workweek was 33.8 hours for March 2008, down from 33.9 in March of 2007. But before we make too much of this decline, it's worth noting that the average workweek was reported as 33.7 hours in February of 2007 and 33.8 hours in April of 2007. So the number reported for March of last year may have just been an aberration. Hours typically fall in a downturn, but I don't think that there is much evidence of this decline in the data yet. In fact, there has been a small uptick in hours worked in manufacturing, where hours are best measured. Actually, the real story is that hours worked never recovered from the falloff in the 2001 recession. Prior to the recession, the average workweek was 34.3 hours. It has never gotten close to this level in this upturn. Anyhow, it's good to see that the NYT is following hours worked -- it can be an important measure of labor market slack -- but I think they got this one wrong.
--Dean Baker
