For Immediate Release: Thursday, March 8, 2012
Contact: Phoebe Silag or Karen Conner, news@epi.org 202-775-8810

Work hours near pre-recession rate: a positive sign for future job growth

Some recent good news in the labor market is that the restoration of work hours to pre-recession levels is nearly complete.  In today’s Snapshot, EPI economist Heidi Shierholz explains how this now positive increase in hours was a drag on employment growth early in the recovery. But now that we have nearly worked off the “hours overhang,” employers needing to add additional hours will be more likely to add new workers instead of increasing the hours of the workers they have. This is a positive sign for future employment growth.