Rising unemployment has left Americans with more spare time on their hands. But those free hours are largely being frittered away, a new government survey finds.
The average American aged 15 or older spent three hours, 11 minutes a day working in 2009, according to the American Time Use Survey released by the Labor Department on Tuesday. That’s 17 minutes less time a day engaged in work than in 2007, before the recession hit. While 17 minutes might not seem a lot, when it’s averaged over the entire population, including employed people, those who have lost a job and retirees, it represents a significant amount.
Full story: As Unemployment Rises, We Spend More Time Watching TV and Sleeping – WSJ.com