Prairie State Wire

Illinois ranked 43rd in a new study by the personal-finance website WalletHub highlighting the states where workers tend to put in the most hours on the job.

Americans use only about 50% of their vacation time in typical years, according to the report, and they forfeited even more vacation hours during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reasons for this include workers’ fears that they will look less dedicated than other employees if they take the time off, according to WalletHub. 

The study compared worker habits in the 50 states based on “director work factors” and “indirect work factors.” The direct factors include length of the average workweek, the employment rate and the level of idle youth. Indirect factors include typical commute times, the number of workers holding down multiple jobs and available leisure time.

Illinois received a score of 34.69 out of a possible 100 points. The state also ranked 47th in the category of annual volunteer hours per resident.

---

Hardest Working States in the U.S.

Overall Rank (1=Hardest Working)	State	Total Score	Direct Work Factors Rank	Indirect Work Factors Rank
1	Alaska	68.63	2	2
2	North Dakota	68.26	1	37
3	Nebraska	60.45	3	10
4	South Dakota	56.81	4	31
5	Texas	55.83	5	33
6	Wyoming	55.71	7	19
7	Oklahoma	54.92	6	28
8	Virginia	53.66	10	6
9	New Hampshire	52.77	11	12
10	Kansas	51.78	8	36
11	Maryland	51.12	15	3
12	Georgia	50.65	9	39
13	Colorado	49.89	14	15
14	Utah	48.77	29	1
15	Tennessee	48.06	12	41
16	Minnesota	46.68	25	5
17	North Carolina	46.26	19	26
18	Indiana	46.1	20	20
19	Iowa	45.68	17	35
20	Alabama	45.27	13	49
21	Idaho	44.43	26	16
22	Hawaii	44.24	28	14
23	Wisconsin	43.88	30	8
24	Kentucky	43.67	23	34
25	Arkansas	43.67	16	48
26	Louisiana	43.5	21	43
27	Montana	43.32	31	11
28	Vermont	43.3	27	24
29	Missouri	43.23	24	32
30	South Carolina	42.81	22	42
31	Washington	41.75	33	9
32	Maine	41.28	35	7
33	Mississippi	41.22	18	50
34	Delaware	40.17	34	17
35	Florida	37.92	32	45
36	Arizona	37.86	36	21
37	Pennsylvania	37.57	41	13
38	Ohio	36.71	39	23
39	California	36.05	38	30
40	Nevada	35.72	37	40
41	Massachusetts	35.4	44	18
42	New Jersey	35.38	42	25
43	Illinois	34.69	43	27
44	Oregon	34.27	49	4
45	Michigan	33.49	40	44
46	Rhode Island	31.07	47	38
47	Connecticut	30.87	50	22
48	New York	30.6	48	29
49	West Virginia	30.11	45	47
50	New Mexico	29.53	46	46

Source: WalletHub.com