According to This Report, Illinois Ranks Really Low on the List of Hard-Working States
Most of us would agree that hard work has been a crucial quality throughout the history of America, and the numbers suggest that working hard is still very much an American thing today.
We put in more hours at our jobs than several other industrialized countries. The average U.S. worker puts in 1,791 hours per year – 184 hours more than the average in Japan, 294 more than the U.K., and 442 more than Germany. In recent years, many people have switched to working from home, which can end up extending work hours even further (WalletHub.com).
The personal finance website WalletHub put together a study that ranks the hardest-working states in America. The list was compiled by gathering and comparing data from the following 11 metrics, broken up into two main categories:
DIRECT WORK FACTORS
- Average Workweek Hours
- Employment Rate
- Share of Households where No Adults Work
- Share of Workers Leaving Vacation Time Unused
- Share of Engaged Workers
- Idle Youth
INDIRECT WORK FACTORS
- Average Commute Time
- Share of Workers with Multiple Jobs
- Annual Volunteer Hours per Resident
- Share of Residents Who Participate in Local Groups or Organizations
- Average Leisure Time Spent per Day
The Results Aren't Great for Illinois
The Land of Lincoln just barely escaped being in the bottom ten states on the list. Illinois landed at #40, which makes it the 11th least hard-working state in America. Illinois ranked 40th in the direct work factors above, and according to this report, Illinois has the second-lowest employment rate in the country.
The Rest of the Tri-State
The results weren't horrible for Indiana and Kentucky - they certainly weren't great either. Indiana is the 22nd hardest-working state, and Kentucky comes in at #34.
Scroll over the map below to see results for all of the cities, and visit WalletHub to see all of the data and scoring used.
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