How many work hours in a year 2025

If you’re managing projects or payroll, budgeting or planning, you need to know how many working hours there are in a year or month.

Maybe you’re planning resources and output and want to create a detailed plan including the amount of work hours for the year.

Or, you want to reassess productivity and benchmark if you’re meeting average hours worked in a month or year.

In this article, we’ll cover how to calculate the number of work hours in a year, month, or week.

We’ll also cover the factors that affect how many hours your employees work, such as employment status and paid leave benefits.

By the end, you’ll even have benchmarks that clarify how many work hours and paid holidays are typical for employees in various locations, occupations, and seniority levels—so your business can stay competitive.

Here’s what we’ll cover

How many work hours in a year for 2025?

To calculate the total work hours for 2025, multiply the number of hours in the work week by the number of weeks in the year.

You’d compute the total work hours per year for a standard 40-hour work week like so:

40 Hours per Week x 52 Weeks per Year = 2,080 Working Hours per Year

However, not every employee works 40 hours a week and this doesn’t account for holidays.

If you don’t account for employees’ work schedules, you could end up under-booking them or not having enough staff to complete a project.

Need to plan for employees with part-time or overtime hours?

Use this chart to figure out the total weekly hours.

Weekly Work Hours	Annual Work Hours Calculation	Total Work Hours Per Year
20	20 Hours x 52 Weeks	1,040
25	25 Hours x 52 Weeks	1,300
30	30 Hours x 52 Weeks	1,560
35	35 Hours x 52 Weeks	1,820
37.5	37.5 Hours x 52 Weeks	1,950
40	40 Hours x 52 Weeks	2,080
45	45 Hours x 52 Weeks	2,340
50	50 Hours x 52 Weeks	2,600
60	60 Hours x 52 Weeks	3,120

If your employees’ working hours fluctuate significantly from day to day or week to week, the formulas above might not provide accurate results.

Instead, you’d need to track time for employees and tally hours manually.

Does 2,080 hours per year include holidays?

The chart above relies on working a standard week for all 52 weeks in a year.

As a result, it doesn’t factor in federal or company holidays, paid time off (PTO), or other non-working hours.

When you are resource planning for a year, you should consider that in the private industry employees have a average of seven paid sick days per year.

Since employees typically take paid or unpaid time off at some point during the year, few actually work the total number of hours in a year.

Below, we’ll walk through the process of calculating time off for holidays.

How many work hours in a month?

The data above is helpful for annual planning.

But when you plan projects or payroll by the month or quarter, you won’t want to calculate total hours for the week or year.

Don’t make the mistake of calculating work hours in a month by multiplying a week by four.

Months have a differing number of days, so you have to multiply by all the weeks in a year and then dividing by the number of months.

Use this formula to compute the number of work hours in an average month:

((Daily Hours x Workdays per Week) x 52 Weeks per Year) / 12 Months per Year = Work Hours per Month

For example, say you need to know how many hours a new employee will work per month.

Suppose they clock in for eight hours a day, five days a week. You’d compute their work hours per month like so:

((8 x 5) x 52) / 12 = 173 Work Hours per Month

You can use the same formula to figure out the number of monthly work hours for employees who work longer or shorter hours.

For example, here’s how you’d calculate work hours per month for a half-time employee:

((4 x 5) x 52) / 12 = 87 Work Hours per Month

And here’s how you’d estimate monthly hours for an executive or team lead who puts in extra hours each week:

((12 x 5) x 52) / 12 = 260 Work Hours per Month

To calculate work hours per quarter, divide the working hours by four quarters instead of 12 months. Like this:

((8 x 5) x 52) / 4 = 520 Work Hours per Quarter

What are the average hours worked per week?

The hours that employees actually spend on the clock don’t always align with the total available work hours in a given year, month, or week.

So, what does an average employee’s workweek actually look like?

The standard workweek is 40 hours.

However, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the average employee in the US works for 8.09 hours per day or 40.45 hours per week (includes full and part time).

Average weekly hours differ slightly depending on education level.

Workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher clock the fewest hours.

On average, they work for 7.99 hours per day or 39.95 hours per week.

Employees with some college or an associate degree clock the most hours.

On average, they work for 8.44 hours per day or 42.2 hours per week.

The number of jobs a worker holds has a negligible effect on total hours worked.

Multiple jobholders work for 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week on average.

On average, single jobholders work for 8.1 hours per day or 40.5 hours per week.

How many hours does a full-time employee work in a year?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines full-time employment as working 35 or more hours per week.

On average, full-time employees in the United States work 8.49 hours per day or 42.45 hours per week.

Full time, the average hours worked equates to 42.45 hours per week, 183.95 hours per month, or 2,207.4 hours per year.

How many hours does a part-time employee work in a year?

Part-time employment involves working less than 35 hours per week.

On average, part-time employees work 5.31 hours per day.

If they work five days per week, they end up clocking in for 26.55 hours per week.

Part time, the average hours worked equates to 26.55 hours per week, 115.05 hours per month, or 1,380.6 hours per year.

How do actual working hours compare around the world?

Around the world, actual working hours vary significantly, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

In the US, employees work an average of 1,799 hours per year.

Several countries have higher annual average working hours, including:

• Mexico: 2,207 hours
• Costa Rica: 2,171 hours
• Chile: 1,953 hours
• Greece: 1,897 hours
• Israel: 1,880 hours

Factors like longer workdays and fewer holidays may drive up the actual hours employees worked in these countries.

Several countries have much lower annual average working hours, including:

• Germany: 1,343 hours
• Denmark: 1,380 hours
• Netherlands: 1,413 hours
• Norway: 1,418 hours
• Austria: 1,435 hours

Compared to the US, workers in these countries may have shorter workdays, more holidays, or both.

How to calculate working hours worked in a year

To calculate actual work hours per year for an employee, you need a few data points, including:

• Daily working hours
• Holidays, including federal and state
• PTO days, including vacation, sick, and personal days

Formula to calculate actual work hours per year:

((Daily Working Hours x 5) x 52) – ((Holidays + PTO Days) x Daily Working Hours) = Total Yearly Working Hours

For example, suppose you’re planning to hire a new employee with a standard eight-hour workday.

Say their benefits package includes 11 holidays per year and 15 PTO days.

For the entire year, their total working hours would be:

((8 x 5) x 52) – ((11 + 15) x 8) = 1,872 Working Hours per Year

Federal public holidays in the US

The US observes 11 public holidays each year. Here’s when these federal holidays fall in 2025:

Holiday	Timing	2025 Date
New Year’s Day	January 1st	January 1, 2025
Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.	Third Monday in January	January 20, 2025
Washington’s Birthday	Third Monday in February	February 17, 2025
Memorial Day	Last Monday in May	May 26, 2025
Juneteenth National Independence Day	June 19th	June 19, 2025
Independence Day	July 4th	July 4, 2025
Labor Day	First Monday in September	September 1, 2025
Columbus Day	Second Monday in October	October 13, 2025
Veterans Day	November 11th	November 11, 2025
Thanksgiving Day	Fourth Thursday in November	November 27, 2025
Christmas Day	December 25th	December 25, 2025

Federal employees in the Washington, DC, area observe an additional public holiday in certain years, as Inauguration Day falls on January 20th every fourth year.

However, this holiday doesn’t apply to private businesses or outside of the capital.

As a business owner, you have the option to give employees PTO for any or all of these holidays. No laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), require private businesses to observe these public holidays.

Federal vs. state paid time off

While all states observe the federal holidays above, some consider select holidays as floating holidays.

This means employees have the option to use them by taking PTO on different dates.

Many states take additional holidays.

For example, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and New York observe Lincoln’s Birthday, which takes place on the second Monday in February.

In 2025, it falls on February 12th.

Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas all observe Good Friday, which falls on April 18, 2025.

Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi celebrate Mardi Gras, which falls on March 4, 2025.

Some states have extended Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays:

• California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia observe the day after Thanksgiving, which falls on November 28, 2025.
• Iowa and Virginia observe the day before Thanksgiving, which falls on November 26, 2025.
• Arkansas, Michigan, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin observe Christmas Eve, which falls on December 24, 2025.
• Iowa, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas observe the day after Christmas, which falls on December 26, 2025.

In addition, Utah considers every Sunday a public holiday.

Many states designate general election days as holidays, and several states also have extra holidays to honor local history.

State	Holiday	Date
Alabama	Confederate Memorial Day	April 28, 2025
Alabama	Jefferson Davis’ Birthday	June 2, 2025
Alabama	Rosa L. Parks Day	December 1, 2025
Alaska	Seward’s Day	March 31, 2025
Alaska	Alaska Day	October 18, 2025
California	Cesar Chavez Day	April 1, 2025
Colorado	Frances Xavier Cabrini Day	October 6, 2025
District of Columbia	Emancipation Day	April 16, 2025
Hawaii	Prince Kūhiō Day	March 26, 2025
Hawaii	King Kamehameha I Day	June 11, 2025
Hawaii	Statehood Day	August 15, 2025
Maine	Patriot’s Day	April 21, 2025
Massachusetts	Patriot’s Day	April 21, 2025
Mississippi	Hernando de Soto Day	May 8, 2025
Mississippi	Elvis Aaron Presley Day	August 16, 2025
Missouri	Truman Day	May 8, 2025
Nebraska	Arbor Day	April 25, 2025
Nevada	Nevada Day	October 31, 2025
Rhode Island	Victory Day	August 11, 2025
South Carolina	Confederate Memorial Day	April 28, 2025
Texas	Texas Independence Day	March 2, 2025
Texas	Cesar Chavez Day	March 31, 2025
Texas	San Jacinto Day	April 21, 2025
Texas	Lyndon Baines Johnson Day	August 27, 2025
Utah	Pioneer Day	July 24, 2025
Vermont	Town Meeting Day	March 4, 2025
Vermont	Bennington Battle Day	August 15, 2025
West Virginia	West Virginia Day	June 20, 2025

Similar to federal holidays, state holidays don’t always apply to private employees.

If you run a business in one of these states, however, it’s worth considering observing these holidays and offering PTO to employees.

How much time off do employees receive?

Between holidays, vacation time, personal days, and sick leave, total time off varies significantly from employer to employer.

There’s no overall average for time off, as it often depends on the employee’s service requirement.

For example, after one year of employment, about 32% of employees receive five to nine days of paid leave, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But the longer employees stay with your company, the more paid leave you’ll want to consider offering.

At both the 5- and 10-year mark, most employees receive 15 to 19 days of paid leave. And after 20 years of employment, about 32% of employees receive more than 24 days of paid leave.

What are the average hours worked by profession?

Across all professions, employees work 38.5 hours per week on average. However, working hours vary slightly between occupations.

Roles with the highest average hours include:

• Management, business, and financial operations: 43.2 hours per week
• Transportation and material moving: 42.6 hours per week
• Installation, maintenance, and repair: 42.5 hours per week
• Sales: 42.3 hours per week
• Production: 42.1 hours per week

These occupations have the lowest average hours worked:

• Office and administrative support: 40.4 hours per week
• Service: 41.2 hours per week
• Professional: 41.4 hours per week
• Construction and extraction: 41.5 hours per week

Depending on your industry and the roles you need to fill, you may find it helpful to adjust your resource or budget planning based on this data.

Keep in mind your employment contracts should stipulate required working hours.

What are the average hours worked by state?

Location also affects working hours.

Across the US, average weekly working hours range from 36.6 in the District of Columbia to 32.5 in Delaware.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

States and districts with the highest average weekly hours include:

• District of Columbia: 36.6 hours per week
• Texas: 36.2 hours per week
• Louisiana: 35.9 hours per week
• North Dakota: 35.8 hours per week
• Wyoming: 35.6 hours per week

States with the lowest average weekly hours include:

• Delaware: 32.5 hours per week
• Montana: 33.1 hours per week
• New York: 33.1 hours per week
• Wisconsin: 33.2 hours per week
• Minnesota: 33.3 hours per week

Depending on where your business is based, local standards may mean you expect employees to work longer or shorter hours.

However, your employment contracts should specify the required hours.

Factors that can affect the total number of work hours in a year

The number of work hours in a year can fluctuate depending on what year it is, when it starts, and which benefits your business offers.

As you calculate total work hours for your employees, consider these factors:

• Weekends: Depending on the day of the week when the year starts, it may include an additional workday.
• Leap years: Leap years, which happen every four years, typically add an extra working day to the calendar.
• Election years: Many states observe election day as a holiday, decreasing annual working days by one.
• Monthly work hours: When you calculate working hours by month, the total depends on the number of days in the month and the number of weekend days it includes.
• Employment status: Full-time employees work at least 35 hours per week, while part-time employees work less than 35 hours per week.
• Vacation days: The number of vacation days each employee receives is up to employers to determine. Many start by offering at least five days of paid leave after a year of service.
• Personal days: Some employers offer sick days or bundle them as personal days. These are paid leave days, and the number depends on the employer.

When you haven't included these factors in your calculations, budgeting for employee salaries can be challenging.

But with the right accounting software, it's much simpler to manage payroll and incorporate paid leave.

FAQs

How many working hours in a calendar year?

The number of working hours in a calendar year is different for every business and may vary from employee to employee.

It depends on several factors, including the:

• Number of hours the employee works each day, week, or month.
• Number of holidays and paid leave days the employee receives.
• Year's structure, including what day it starts and whether it's a leap year or an election year.

Use this formula to calculate total working hours in a year:

((Daily Working Hours x 5) x 52) - ((Holidays + PTO Days) x Daily Working Hours) = Total Yearly Working Hours

How many hours in a 40-hour work year?

A standard 40-hour workweek has 2,080 working hours.

How many hours in a work year full time?

A full-time employee works at least 35 hours a week.

That means in a given year, a full-time worker has at least 1,820 working hours.

How many work hours in a year minus holidays?

There are 11 federal holidays in a given year, and some states have additional holidays.

If your business has a 40-hour workweek and observes federal holidays, there are 1,992 work hours in a year.

However, annual work hours will vary if your company has a different work schedule or holiday calendar.

Sage's cloud accounting software automates accounting tasks, helping your business stay compliant and avoid costly errors while allowing you to focus on building your business.