Average Weekly Hours – Indicator of Economic Momentum

July 10, 2026

Average weekly hours is an economic indicator that measures the aggregate number of hours worked per week. In the U.S. total private sector, this figure was 34.2 hours in May 2026, while averaging 32.9 hours in Oregon.

This metric is a vital real-time gauge of labor market health and economic momentum at the national level. Businesses may adjust employees’ hours—by cutting shifts or offering overtime—before implementing layoffs or hiring initiatives. Because of this, changes in weekly hours can predict future economic turning points or business cycle fluctuations.

U.S. average weekly hours in manufacturing is one of the 10 core components of The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index, which tracks and forecasts the direction of the U.S. economy.

The monthly data for Oregon is choppy, and we don’t have seasonally adjusted data for this time series. But we can view longer-term trends by charting the 12-month moving average.

This moving average of Oregon’s private-sector workweek dropped steadily during the Great Recession of 2008-2009. From slightly above 34 hours per week at the outset of this recession, to a low 12-month moving average of 33.2 hours per week during the 12 months ending in October 2009.

Then Oregon’s average workweek rose to around 33.7 to 34.1 hours during 2011 through 2025. Recently, the 12-month average workweek has dropped substantially in Oregon, to 33.2 in May. This is back to the low point associated with the Great Recession in 2009.

The comparable U.S. average workweek has consistently been higher than Oregon’s average throughout the past 20 years. Since 2007, the U.S. averaged 34.4 hours per week while Oregon averaged 33.8 hours—a difference of 0.6 hours, which is equivalent to a drop of 35 minutes and 12 seconds.

This weekly hours data is from the Current Employment Statistics program. This data is also available for Oregon’s MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas) as well as statewide industries.

Looking at the MSA data in Oregon, employees in the Portland MSA typically work the longest hours, at between 34 and 35 hours per week during most of the past 20 years. Salem MSA generally had a longer workweek than Eugene MSA, but the average workweek tended to oscillate by about one hour per week over an approximate frequency of every two years.

Corvallis MSA typically has a much shorter average workweek than other MSAs, likely due to the many college students who work part time. Albany MSA and Medford MSA have similar workweek trends over the past 15 years, while Grants Pass MSA has seen its workweek fluctuate substantially since 2012, perhaps due to a lower sample of firms reporting to the CES survey which is causing a high relative standard error of the estimates. Also, it is likely that the large and rapidly growing number of social assistance workers being reported in Grants Pass MSA has been a major reason for the average workweek dropping from near 35 hours in 2021 to approximately 32 hours in 2026.

Turning to the industry side of the picture, we see that leisure and hospitality has by far the shortest workweek, averaging about 25 hours per week. The other extreme is manufacturing, which typically has an average workweek of close to 39 hours.

Construction’s workweek rose from a low point of about 35 hours following the Great Recession. It steadily rose to nearly 38 hours by 2018, and has fluctuated near there since then, but recently dropped down closer to 37 hours per week, likely a sign of slightly diminished demand for construction labor recently.

Two large industries showing similar declining trends over the past three years are professional and business services and trade, transportation, and utilities. Both have seen employment dropping substantially between 2022 and 2026, and both have seen their average workweek decline as well during that period.

Changes in the length of the typical work week over time provide an indication of changes in the economy. Thus, this metric can be a useful tool when combined with other labor market information for an assessment of regional or industrial dynamics. The recent drop in Oregon’s average weekly hours to near 33 hours per week is a sign of potentially declining labor demand.