The average American aged 15 and older spent 5 hours, 15 minutes, per day on leisure activities in 2009 — the most recent data available — according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a typical day, 96% of Americans engaged in some sort of leisure. They spend more time on weekends than on weekdays at leisure (6 hours, 32 minutes vs. 4 hours, 42 minutes).
Watching television was by far their most common leisure activity; Americans spent an average of 2 hours, 49 minutes, doing so. In the past two years, their time spent with television has grown 12 minutes (an increase of 7% over 2007), meanwhile, the time they spent working — attributed to the recession — decreased 17 minutes (a decrease of 7% over the same period).
The unemployed spent an average of 6 hours, 53 minutes at leisure, whereas full-time workers spent 4 hours, 5 minutes at leisure, and part-time workers spent 4 hours, 48 minutes at leisure.
Caring for children also affects the amount of time Americans have to spend at leisure. Those who do not have children spent an average of 5 hours, 47 minutes, on leisure activities per day, compared to an average of 4 hours, 24 minutes for those with children under age 18. In addition, the younger their children, the less leisure time parents have — those with kids under age six had an average of 4 hours, 7 minutes a day; those with children aged six to 12 had an average of 4 hours, 25 minutes a day; and those with children aged 13 to 17 had an average of 4 hours, 55 minutes.
Leisure time declines from youth into middle age when adults spend the most hours working and caring for children, and then increases again as Americans grow into retirement age and those responsibilities wane. Those aged 15-19 had 5 hours, 45 minutes, of leisure time per day in 2009, whereas those aged 35-44 had the least leisure time (4 hours, 16 minutes). Those aged 75 and older had the most leisure time at 7 hours, 46 minutes. Their activities that vary most widely by age are reading (favored by older Americans) and playing games and using a computer for leisure (favored by younger Americans).
Although Americans spend a significantly greater portion of their leisure time watching TV, they most commonly cite reading as one of their top three leisure activities (30%), according to Harris Interactive data cited by Richard K. Miller Associates in “The 2010 Leisure Market Research Handbook” available from Research Alert parent EPM Communications. Nearly a quarter (24%) name watching TV as a favorite activity, and 17% cite spending time with friends and family.
Miller Associates cite several trends in leisure time for Americans in the prior half-century. Although Americans feel more pressed for time, they actually have more leisure time; for men, that increase is the result of fewer men in the workforce. More women are in the workforce, but that increase was offset by fewer hours spent working in the home to yield a net gain in leisure hours.
Reading has been in steady decline for the prior decade, according to several sources cited by Miller Associates. It experienced a slight uptick in 2009, when 50% of adults said they read a novel, short story, play, or poetry. Adults under the age of 45 spend a significantly smaller amount of time per day than their older peers.
Mothers (53%) say reading is a favorite leisure activity that they do with their children, according to General Mills and Ipsos. Two thirds of moms (67%) read to their child daily, and 26% do so a few times a week.
The vast majority of mothers (81%) begin to do so before their child’s first birthday. Moms say their child has an average of 55 books at home. The vast majority (92%) have at least 10 books. Moms choose books for their educational value (62%), colorful illustrations (43%), topic (41%), and lessons or morals (38%).
Source: “American Time Use Survey,” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2 Massachusetts Ave. NE, #4675, Washington, DC 20212; 212-691-6339; atusinfo@bls.gov; www.bls.gov/tus. Price: Available online at no charge.
“The 2010 Leisure Market Research Handbook,” Richard K. Miller Associates, available from EPM Communications, 19 W. 21st St., #303, New York, NY 10010; 212-941-0099; info@epmcom.com; www.epmcom.com. Price: $335 for subscribers to any EPM newsletter, $385 for non-subscribers.
“Mother And Child Activities,” Ipsos, Nicolas Boyon, SVP, 1700 Broadway, 15th Fl., New York, NY 10019; 646-364-7583; nicolas.boyon@ipsos.com; www.ipsos-na.com. Price: Call for information.
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