1997 Workers on Flexible and Shift Schedules — 1998-03-26

In May 1997, about 25.0 million full-time wage and salary workers had flexible work schedules that allowed them to vary the time they began or ended work, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The proportion of workers with such schedules was 27.6 percent, up sharply from the 15.1 percent recorded when the data were last collected in May 1991. The increase in flexible work schedules was widespread across demographic groups, occupations, and industries. These findings were obtained from a supplement to the May 1997 Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey of about 50,000 households that provides the basic data on national employment and unemployment. The information presented in this release pertain to wage and salary workers who were at work during the May 1997 reference week and who usually worked 35 or more hours per week. The survey also collected information about the prevalence of shift work.