C: Calculation of Full-time Equivalent Employment

The following are details of calculations for the average number of hours per full-time equivalent (FTE) or person year of employment.

Table C-1: Full-time Equivalent Hours per Year

Calculation of FTE hours per year:

 

365

days per year

   
 

Less:

 
 

104

weekend days

 

11

legal holidays

 

15

average vacation days

 

6

sick leave

 

229

days per person year

   
 

8

hours per workday

   
 

1,832

hours per person year

Workdays vary anywhere from 6.5 to 8 hours; however, in order to be conservative, an 8-hour workday was assumed.[1] Similarly, numbers of vacation and sick leave days may also vary.

  • 1 Essentially, we are using a measure of paid hours per year. Using a measure of productive hours per year with 6.5-hour workdays (8 hours less 1 hour for lunch less two 15-minute work breaks) would give 1,489 hours per person year. Using this lower figure would result in inferring a greater number of FTEs from seasonal and part-time jobs. Using the 1,832 figure, we infer a lower number of FTEs.