September 7, 2001—Americans are working longer hours and still longer than any other country in the industrialized world. According to are recent report released by the International Labor Organization, an agency of the United Nations, only South Korea and the Czech Republic reported working more hours per week—this is likely due to the transition in those countries to a market economy, say researchers.
The average US worker put in 1,978 hours in 2000, nearly one week more on the job than they did a decade earlier. Mexico and Australia followed the US with 1,888 and 1,860 hours per year, respectively. The UK topped European nations with 1,720 hours in 2000. American productivity was up .8 percent since 1995, while the European Union dropped 1.2 percent over the same time period. For more information, read the ILOs release regarding the report entitled, Key Indicators of the Labor Market 2001-2002.
