If you live in Westchester, but work in the city, we have bad—but likely not surprising—news for you: you’re probably working longer hours than your counterparts here in Westchester and, indeed, throughout the nation. In a new report, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer analyzed US Census data and found that full-time workers in New York City labor longer than employees in 29 other major US cities. What’s to blame? New York City workers endure longer-than-average commuting times, amounting to about 6 hours and 18 minutes per week—nearly two hours longer than the national average.
The report shows that a week of commuting and working in New York City averages more than 49 hours—three to four hours more than in some other large cities. New York City workers log an average of 42.5 hours in the office, plus 6.18 hours commuting, for a total average work week of 49.08 hours. By comparison, San Francisco workers average 48.58 hours per week, while Washington, DC, and Houston and Fort Worth, Texas, employees total 48.39, 48.18, and 48.01 hours respectively.
A few other findings from the report give an interesting perspective on some of the workplace trends taking place among those of you working in the city:
“The long work-week schedules…may contribute to some labor force characteristics of the city, such as the relatively low labor force participation rate among women with children. And, although wages in New York City are higher, on average, than other US cities, the longer work-week effectively lowers that wage premium.”
“Among workers in the most common New York City occupations, security guards have the longest commutes, spending more than eight hours per week commuting on average. Nursing and home health aides and maids and housekeepers also report long commutes, while chief executives, taxi drivers, and physicians and surgeons report the shortest commutes.”
“Despite their long workweeks and commutes overall, New Yorkers are not more apt to work flexible schedules or to work from home.”
“With usual work schedules topping 47 hours, New York City financial workers spend, on average, almost four hours more per week working than do their counterparts in other large cities. Longer work hours (relative to other cities) are also characteristic of New York’s advertising, media, computer, and legal services industries.”
“With an estimated weekly commute of 6 hours, 18 minutes, New York is the only city among the 30 largest in which average weekly commuting hours exceeds five, more than an extra hour each day.”
Makes you want to give up your monthly Metro-North pass and find a new job here in Westchester, no?
