The other day, economist Allison Schrager and I decided to contribute to the economy.

“We are on the High Line, a famed park in New York City's west side. And we are just leisurely hanging out — we are leisuring,” Schrager said.

Economic leisuring, that is. It was wonderful, but didn’t quite feel like we were particularly contributing to the economy.

“There could be positive externalities to how you spend your leisure time,” said Schrager.

‘Positive externalities’ is economist speak for good things that come from walking in the park. Schrager said that economists care about this. 

We talk a lot about data here at Marketplace. Certainly, inflation data is one of the headliners, but the Bureau of Labor Statistics isn’t all inflation and unemployment numbers.

The data has a softer side as well: Did you sleep well? Did you enjoy your lunch? How late were you up with your baby? The BLS tracks all of that data, too.

This can add up to a big economic deal. I’m talking about the American Time Use Survey, which has been commissioned by the BLS since 2003. This survey goes right to the heart of things. 

“I love the Time Use survey. Leisure is important,” said Allison Schrager. “Economists try to measure utility or, like, how happy people are.”

“You're walking people through a day from 4:00 a.m. until 4:00 a.m. the next day,” said economist Michael Horrigan, one of the architects of the American Time Use Survey. “A lot of those hours are sleep.”

Not only does he want to measure how happy I am, but also when I felt happy. The Time Use Survey comes out once a year, but thousands of people take it every month.

Starting with: “What was your first activity? You know, I got up and I made breakfast. And then for each activity how long did it take place?” said Horrigan.

At 6:45 a.m., I made coffee with milk, and drank it while doomscrolling and soft-boiling an egg for 7 minutes. This is exactly the kind of information Horrigan wanted after decades at the BLS, overseeing jobs data and inflation reports.

That’s because the Time Use Survey can help economists understand these numbers more deeply. And this survey? It goes deep.

“Between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. yesterday, you said you were walking the High Line in New York City,” he said. (That’s correct.)

He then asked me to rate how happy I felt during this time on a scale from zero to six. A six for sure. It was so nice.

How you feel while doing different activities — this is from the wellness section of the survey.

Next, Horrigan asked how much pain I felt — emotional, physical, and otherwise — once again rating it on a scale from zero to six. I did have a blister rubbing up on my sandal. It was pretty minor though, so let’s go with one.

From bliss to blisters, there's a lot economists learn from this data. It’s about how we live in the economy. For example, if your job is making you frustrated and stressed, consider a different field.

“Jobs in agriculture, logging and forestry ranked the highest on happiness and meaningfulness, and the lowest on stress,” Horrigan said.

The survey can also help illuminate the economic trade-offs we made. 

“Take for example, the role of women in the labor force who are doing the housework,” Horrigan said. “Let's say we have a traditional husband, wife, what does that division of labor and what does that mean in terms of an opportunity cost? Do you observe lower work hours by the people who are doing more household production? For example, do you observe lower wages?”

Child care is one of the hottest topics in the survey. For example, if companies are desperate for workers and the survey shows people are staying out of the workforce to care for their children, company owners could provide child care, or a city could put policies in place to encourage the creation of daycares.

Back on the High Line (which was not supposed to cost any money), I’m beginning to get a caffeine headache. Or, as an economist would call it: a positive economic externality. AKA, there’s a coffee cart in my future. 

The future of the Time Use Survey, however, is very much in question, said Horrigan. He’s worried the Survey will be scrapped amidst budget cuts and data questions at the BLS. 

I find a coffee cart and order a cold brew. The total? $7.59. The consumer price index recently reported that coffee prices were up 14% over last year — not to mention a 50% tariff on imports from Brazil.

So I’m not loving the outlook for my pain index. But with a coffee in hand on the High Line? That’s got me feeling happier — for the moment, at least.