Household Production

We use data from surveys that ask people how they spend their time. The United States is the only country that collects these statistics every year; the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has been conducting its American Time Use Survey since 2003. To track long-term trends, BEA combines that survey's data with less comprehensive studies that have been conducted occasionally since 1965. BEA uses the wages of general-purpose domestic workers to estimate the value of this unpaid work that people do at home.

Satellite accounts supplement BEA's core statistics by providing detail about a particular aspect of the economy, such as spending on travel and tourism. Typically, these accounts illuminate economic activities that are incorporated within broader statistics like GDP. In contrast, the Household Production Satellite Account measures activities that aren't included within BEA's other statistics. 

GDP measures the market value of the goods and services a nation produces. Unpaid work that people do for themselves and their families isn't traded in the marketplace, so there are no transactions to track. Surveys asking people how they spend their time can be used to estimate household production. But the United States only began collecting these data annually in 2003, and many countries have never done a nationally representative survey.

Cooking, cleaning, caring for children, shopping, gardening and doing odd jobs around the house are examples of household production. The travel time related to these tasks is counted, too. We use what's known as the "third person" criteria: Would someone pay another person (a "third person" from outside the home) to perform the activity? If so, it's included in household production. For example, many parents pay for child care. But people wouldn't pay someone to watch television for them, so leisure activities like watching TV aren't included.