Attachment H - Advance Brochure

Frequently Asked Questions About the American Time Use Survey (ATUS)
When will I be interviewed?
Why is it
important that I participate?
People use their time differently depending on their age and circumstances. This survey asks a wide variety
of people how they use their time:
students, retirees, workers, parents,
men, and women. Your participation
in this survey ensures we provide
accurate data on the time use and
quality of life of all people aged 15
and over living in America. You are an
important part of this survey.

I don’t have time to complete the survey. Can someone else in my household
participate instead?
You were carefully selected to represent thousands of other people in
households similar to yours. Unfortunately, we cannot interview other
members of your household, but
we can work with you to set up a
convenient interview time.

Are my answers confidential?
Yes. You are protected by United
States Code, Title 13, Section 9,
which requires all information about
you and your household to be kept
strictly confidential and used only for
statistical purposes. In compliance
with this law, the Census Bureau
cannot release any information that
could identify you or your household
to anyone, including market research
firms, political campaigns, or other
government agencies.

Who is conducting the
ATUS?

To capture a full picture of time use
on all days of the week, we assigned
you a specific day of the week as
your interview day. If you are unavailable at the time of the interview,
we would be happy to call you on
the same day the following week.
You can always call to schedule a
time for the interview that is more
convenient for you. Your time is
very important—we know because
we study it.

The U.S. Census Bureau collects and
processes the data. The Bureau of
Labor Statistics (BLS) analyzes and
publishes the information. The
Census Bureau removes all confidential information from the data files,
such as name and address, before
the BLS reviews the data.

What happens during the
interview? What will you ask
me?

I just participated in the Current Population Survey. Why
are you contacting me again?

This one-time survey takes 15–20
minutes to complete, from the
moment you pick up the phone. We
interview just one person from each
household. After confirming some
information about your household,
the interviewer will ask you to recall
how you spent the past 24 hours
and then follow up with a few questions related to your time use.

When we interview you for the ATUS,
we save time and money because
we don’t have to ask many of the
background questions that were
already asked in the Current Population Survey (CPS). This shortens the
time required to complete the ATUS
and allows us to conduct interviews
with more people. Unlike the CPS,
the ATUS is a one-time only survey.

I’m still in high school. Why
was I selected?

How can I learn more about
the ATUS?

We interview people of all ages,
including teenagers. How teenagers
balance school, work, and time with
family and friends is an important
topic for educators, health professionals, and others. If you are under
18 and selected to represent your
household in this survey, a parent
or guardian is welcome to be on the
line with you during the interview.

Please visit our respondent website for more information:
www.bls.gov/respondents/tus
You can also check out some
charts and tables with ATUS data:
www.bls.gov/tus/charts
and
www.bls.gov/tus/tables.htm

ATUS Data Show How We Spend Our Time

The American Time Use Survey
A survey about how people spend their time

Between 5-6 p.m. on weekdays,
34% of adults spend some time in
transit.

On an average weekday, adults
spend 1 hour and 15 minutes
traveling by car, train, bus,
bike, or by some
other means.

34%
How much time do
Americans spend working?
Sleeping? In transit?

1 hr1 5 min
Women spend about 34 minutes
preparing food and drinks on an
average day...

...while men spend 14 minutes
doing so.

1 4 min

3 4 min
On days they do housework—dusting, vacuuming, washing clothes,
and similar activities—women spend
about 1 hour and 48 minutes on these
chores.

1 hr 48 min

Parents of a child under age 3 spend
about 2 hours and 12 minutes per
day providing childcare as a main
activity...

2 hr1 2 min
At 7 a.m. 64% of full-time college
students are asleep...

On days they do lawn care, men
spend about 2 hours and 20 minutes
caring for their lawns.

2 hr 20 min
How do people
spend their time
when they retire?

...while parents whose youngest
child is older than 12 spend
about 21 minutes per day
providing this care.

2 1 min

64%

32%

On an average school day, high
school students spend about
1 hour and 33 minutes watching TV...

1 hr 3 3 min

Time
is a resource
—just like money—
and knowing how
people spend their
time helps answer
important
questions

Do men and women
spend their time
differently?

...but at the same hour, only
32% of full-time workers are
still asleep.

How much time do
people spend taking care
of children and elderly
parents?

...and about 57 minutes doing
homework.

5 7 min

U.S. Department of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Administration
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

( Contact us at: 1-800-331-4706

What is the value to the
country of volunteer work?

What is the quality of life
like in the United States,
and how does it compare
to other countries?

*

census.gov

[email protected]

How often do people
exercise, and what sorts
of activities do they do for
exercise?

How much time is spent
in education or training?
Is this increasing or
decreasing?