Commute times­­­­

The rise in numbers of homeworkers has helped cut average commute times to a 10-year low, a TUC analysis of official figures reveals.

Using figures from the Labour Force Survey, the TUC calculates that £339 million worth of working time is spent travelling to and from work daily.

The average time spent commuting increased each year from 1998 to 2006, reaching a record 52 minutes and 36 seconds in 2006. However, since 2006, average commute times have decreased every year, falling to 47 minutes and 48 seconds per day in 2008, the lowest level since records began 10 years ago.

The TUC partly attributes the decline in travel time to the growth in homeworking. Between 2006 and 2008, the number of people working from home increased by 291,000 — and accounted for more than half of employment growth during this period.