Data can tell us interesting things about the workforce and help us make decisions about where to spend our efforts in recruiting. The following is a summary of information on how people spend their time, compiled by Michelle Freeman, an economist in the Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. She used data from the 2017 American Time Use Study to look at difference between millennials and older generations to identify difference in how they use time. The study interviewed 190,000 people between 2003 and 2017 about their time use on a given day.

Millennials born between 1986 and 1991

Michelle states, “There is a national conversation about generational differences between age cohorts in the United States. Terms such as millennials, Generation X, baby boomers, the Silent Generation, and the Greatest Generation routinely appear in the popular press, social media, and other forums, to describe individuals born in particular years.”

The study found that in 2017, millennials were more likely to be employed and to work full time than non-millennials. Seventy-nine percent of millennials were employed (65 percent full time), compared with 59 percent of non-millennials (48 percent full time). The study showed that forty-five percent of millennials ages 25 to 36 had a bachelor’s or advanced degree.

Age specific findings

Some other findings were that millennials spent less time on household chores, twice as much time caring for children, much more time on educational activities, less time purchasing goods, much less time on religious and volunteer activities, more time on personal care, and less time on leisure activities.

To see the full study, click here.