Frequently Asked Questions
I. General Information
II. Collection of ATUS Data
III. ATUS Data and Estimates
III. Other Time-Use Surveys
I. General Information
Time-use surveys measure the amount of time people spend doing various activities, such as work, childcare, housework, watching
television, volunteering, and socializing.
Data collection began in January 2003, and the first estimates were
published on September 14, 2004.
ATUS is sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Census Bureau collects and processes the data.
Households that have completed their final (8th) month of the Current Population Survey are
eligible for the ATUS. From this eligible group, households are selected that
represent a range of demographic characteristics. Then, one person age 15
or over is randomly chosen from the household to answer questions about
his or her time use. This person is interviewed
for the ATUS 2-5 months after his or her household's final CPS interview.
The ATUS Respondent's Web site
provides additional information for those
selected to participate in the ATUS.
Researchers, journalists, educators, sociologists,
economists, government lawmakers, lawyers, and
individuals are all users of time-use information. The survey produces
nationally-representative estimates of the U.S. population's time use by
labor force status, demographic characteristics, and other factors. Analysts
are able to compare Americans' time use with similar data from almost
fifty other countries that have, or soon will have, time-use surveys. To
find out more about how time-use data can be used, go to the ATUS Overview.
ATUS microdata files are published annually.
II. Collection of ATUS Data
The data are collected through telephone interviews. Census Bureau
interviewers use Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing, a system that
automatically advances interviewers to the next question based on a
respondent's answers to previous questions.
Households without telephones and those that did not provide a
telephone number in the CPS can be selected for the ATUS sample. In a
letter about the survey, BLS asks respondents in these households to
call a toll-free number to complete the interview.
Respondents do not receive a diary on which to record activities
prior to the telephone interview. (When developing the survey, an early
test showed no improvement in data quality, as well as greater
respondent burden, when respondents used a paper diary aid.) Instead,
they receive a letter and pamphlet explaining the purpose of the ATUS
and notifying them of the day they will be called.
Respondents are interviewed only once.
Trained coders use software that displays all of a respondent's daily
activities as recorded by the interviewer. Coders assign a code from the
ATUS classification system to each activity. The classification system
contains 17 major time-use categories, each containing two additional
levels of detail. These 17 coding categories are recombined into more
relevant analytical categories for publication. To find out more about
the ATUS coding categories, see the ATUS Coding
Lexicons.
III. ATUS Data and Estimates
News release tables show time-use estimates for major activity
categories, selected detailed activities, and selected demographic and
labor force characteristics. These tables are available on the ATUS Web site under the
heading Economic News
Releases. In addition, a limited number of unpublished tables are
available from the ATUS staff. These tables include time-use estimates
by age, race, ethnicity, employment status, educational attainment,
marital status, the presence and age of household children, and other
detail. For more information about these unpublished tables, contact ATUS
staff. To request notification of the release of the 2007
data files, contact ATUS
staff.
ATUS staff members are unable to produce tabulations upon special
request.
Yes, microdata files (and associated codebooks) for 2003 to 2006 are
available for downloading. Links to the microdata are available on the
ATUS home page under the heading Obtaining ATUS Data. To
request notification of the release of the 2007 microdata files,
contact ATUS
staff.
Many variables appear on the ATUS microdata files. For a list of
variables that are frequently used to tabulate the ATUS microdata, see the ATUS documentation
Frequently Used Variables.
IV. Other Time-Use Surveys
Time-use data are, or soon will be, collected in approximately fifty
other countries, including Germany, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and
South Africa. The ATUS coding system was designed to ensure that
time-use information in the United States could be compared, at broad
levels, with information from other countries. To learn more about
surveys in other countries, go to International Data on
Time Use.
The Universities of Michigan and Maryland have conducted time-use
surveys periodically since 1965. The ATUS is the first federally administered,
continuous survey on time use in the United States.
Several organizations conducted time-use surveys in the United States before the ATUS began in 2003. Because
of differences in methodology between these studies and ATUS, estimates produced using these studies
are not directly comparable to ATUS estimates.
Early efforts in the United States included
USDA-sponsored studies during the 1920s and early 1930s; these studies collected time diaries from
farm housewives. The University of Michigan conducted time-use studies in 1965, 1975-76, 1981, and 1985.
The 1965 study’s sample was intentionally drawn from a population of urban, mostly employed individuals.
The University of Maryland conducted time-use studies in 1992-94, 1998, and 2001. ATUS
staff can provide a list of documents containing historical time-use estimates upon request.
The University of Maryland maintains a listing of time-use
surveys previously done in the United States.
Additionally, the Multinational Time Use Study
(MTUS) maintained by
the Centre for Time Use Research (CTUR) at the University of Oxford in the UK, maintains a harmonized file
containing data from the 1965-66, 1975-76, 1985, 1992-95, and 1998-2001
time-use studies done in the U.S. This file includes ATUS microdata that have
been adjusted to allow comparisons between the earlier surveys from the
United States as well as from other countries. Researchers can apply to the Centre for Time Use Research to
access the MTUS data files. Access is free of charge.
Last Modified Date: June 28, 2007
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