Is the Tight Labor Market Due to Fewer Workers — or Fewer Hours Worked?

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Why high earning men worked fewer hours.

Over the past year, the Federal Reserve has rapidly increased interest rates to bring inflation under control. As a result, inflationary pressure has begun to ease, and the economy has shown signs of softening in recent months. However, the labor market remains strong — or “out of balance” according to Fed officials. Basically, demand for labor is outstripping labor supply. But why? The answer, according to my research, is not primarily that fewer people are working.

So employed Americans are working less, on average — but which ones? The reduction in work hours was more pronounced among men ages 25-55 with a bachelor’s degree. And high-earning men reduced their hours the most: for example, the top 10% of male workers by earnings reduced their work hours by an hour-and-a-half a week, from 44.7 hours in 2019 to 43.2 hours per week in 2022. By contrast, the bottom 10% of male workers by earnings worked more hours, 23.4 hours per week in 2022, compared with 22.

showed that workers’ desired hours of work declined, providing direct evidence that the hours reduction was voluntary.What did workers do with the time freed up from work? The latest available figures from the American Time Use Survey provide a clue. It turns out married men are the ones that reduced their work hours the most, and they spent more time socializing and relaxing.

 

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