More Workers on Flexible Schedules

The percentage of U.S. workers on flexible schedules has nearly doubled since 1991, with more than 25 million full-time wage and salary workers in 1997 on schedules that allowed them to vary the time they began or ended work, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Last year, 27.6% of workers in a broad range of industries had flexible shifts, compared with 15.1% in 1991, a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

“Given the importance of balancing work and family responsibilities, I am particularly encouraged by data indicating that in 1997, almost 30% of parents with children were able to have flexible schedules,” Labor Secretary Alexis M. Herman said in a statement.