In Dec. 2007, when the Great Recession began, the average number of hours worked per week in the private sector (including both full-time and part-time jobs) was 34.6. As employers cut hours, the length of the average workweek dropped to 33.8 by March 2009. While this drop in hours meant smaller paychecks and more hardship for workers, it also actually saved jobs. The 2.3 percent drop in average hours multiplied across the private sector workforce of more than 100 million workers means that if hours had not dropped, 2.5 million more jobs would have been lost.
But the restoration of work hours is bad news as far as employment growth goes, because increasing hours absorbs work that could be done by new hires. In the current recovery, the restoration of hours has been a drag on employment growth ever since average hours began growing again in late 2009. Think of it this way: The drop in hours saved 2.5 million jobs on the way down, but it has delayed new employment growth to that same extent on the way back up.
DKOS
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