Study: New York City is America's hardest working city

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Full-time workers in New York City have longer work weeks than any other major U.S. city when commuting times are taken into account.

A recently released report by New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer found that low-wage workers endure the most brutal commutes and suggests workplace policies to help balance work and family life, in addition to better investment in mass transit.

"New York is America's hardest working city, but it's a one-two punch for lower wage workers, who get paid less and travel longer to get to work," Stringer said. "This means employees in the Big Apple get paid less than it appears on an hourly basis, because their commutes are significantly greater than anyone else in the country."

Stringer's study examined data from the 1990 and 2000 Census and the 2013 American Community Survey.

The analysis found that full-time workers in New York City spend slightly more time at work than those in other cities as well as spending an average six hours more a week commuting.

The study also found that New York City full-time worked earned about 16 percent more in 2013 than workers in other major cities and that security guards and health care workers are burdened the most by longer work weeks and commutes.

"If New York City is going to symbolize the American Dream, we can't be a nightmare when it comes to long work hours and commuting," Stringer said. "Our residents deserve better."