The Multinational Time Use Study (MTUS) was first developed in the early 1980s. Professor Jonathan Gershuny, then working at the University of Bath with Sally Jones, observed the potential to harmonise time use datasets collected in the early 1960s through the mid 1980s into a single dataset with common series of background variables and total time spent per day in 41 activities. The original MTUS allowed comparison of British time use data with the 1965 Szalai Multinational Time Budget Study and data from Canada and Denmark. The MTUS since has grown to encompass over 60 datasets from 22 countries, and is now incorporating recent data from the HETUS, ATUS, and other national level time use projects. Professor Gershuny and Dr Kimberly Fisher presently manage the study in collaboration with other time use scholars.
This site provides access to the MTUS data and documentation, and offers advice on the use of this dataset
In October 2011, we:
- Made minor documentation corrections to the UK 1974-75 and USA 2004-2008 readme documentation files
- Upgraded Germany 1991-92 from W553 W58 and W60
- Added the 2008-2010 USA data in W553 W58 and W60
In March 2011, we upgraded:
- Finland 1979 from W552 to W553 W58 and W60
- Released Race and Region Supplements for the Netherlands, Spain and the UK
At present we are working on upgrading the remaining older surveys from Finland, Germany, the UK and USA, and adding the remainder of the USA ATUS (2008-2010) and Finland 2009-10.
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