Men have more leisure time than women, says ONS

Men spend more time of leisure across all age groups and all parts of the UK, while women are more likely to be engaged in unpaid work, such as caring, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Its study shows men spend an average of six hours and nine minutes on leisure activities compared with five hours and 29 minutes per day respectively.

The ONS says the majority of leisure time for both men and women was spent consuming mass media, for example, watching TV, reading or listening to music (16 hours and 24 minutes per week for men and 14 hours and 23 minutes for women).

On average, men spent more time per week on sports, hobbies and computer games than women (four hours and 29 minutes and two hours and 29 minutes per week respectively), while women spent more time doing social activities (four hours and 19 minutes compared with three hours and two minutes per week for men).

The age group spending the most time on leisure activities was those aged 65 and over (seven hours and 10 minutes per week), at 50% more time in leisure than the 25- to 34-year-olds, who took the least leisure time (four hours and 46 minutes per week).

People who work in skilled trade professions spent the least time on leisure (four hours and 34 minutes per week), compared with people in sales and customer services professions who spent the most (five hours and 21 minutes per week). The figures also showed that those from high income households were more likely to be engaged in leisure activities on the weekends than those from low income households, who were more likely to be working.

Of the individuals who were working, on average, those employed full-time spent the least amount of time performing leisure activities (four hours and 48 minutes per week), compared with those who were employed part-time (five hours and seven minutes per week).

When the figures are broken down for age group, men in the 16-to-24-year-old age group took an average of six hours 27 minutes of leisure time per week while women of that age took an average of five hours and 28 minutes per week. Men in the aged 45 to 54, 55 to 64 and 65 and over age groups took an average of five hours and 45 minutes, six hours and 19 minutes and seven hours and 35 minutes of leisure per week respectively; while women in the 45 to 54, 55 to 64 and 65 and over age groups took four hours and 54 minutes, five hours and 37 minutes and six hours and 50 minutes of leisure time per week respectively.

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