That\u2019s where the full-time equivalent (FTE)<\/strong> helps. It\u2019s a metric that quantifies an employee\u2019s workload by comparing it to a full-time schedule. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Companies use FTE to assess workforce capacity, plan projects, manage budgets, and comply with legal requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this article, we\u2019ll discuss FTE basics, show you how to calculate FTEs, and answer frequently asked questions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s dive in!<\/p>\n\n\n A full-time equivalent (FTE) \u2014 also known as a whole-time equivalent or WTE \u2014 represents the sum of all full-time hours employees work in a certain company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Along with counting the hours worked, FTEs show how many full-time employees a particular company employs within a fiscal year or needs to employ to carry out a project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Depending on your needs, you can calculate FTE weekly, monthly, or yearly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The formula for calculating FTE for a single worker is simple:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Employee\u2019s scheduled hours \/ Company\u2019s official full-time hours = FTE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s say your company defines \u201cfull time\u201d as 40 hours per week, and the employee works 40 hours per week. In that case, the calculation is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 40 \/ 40 = 1.0 FTE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n So, 1 standard full-time employee counts as 1.0 FTE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Track work hours with Clockify<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few examples of FTE calculations with part-time employee hours:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scenario #1: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1 part-time employee working half of the company\u2019s official full-time schedule:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n 20 hours worked \/ 40-hour work week = 0.5 FTE<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Scenario #2:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1 part-time employee working a quarter of the company\u2019s official full-time schedule:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n 10 hours worked \/ 40-hour work week = 0.25 FTE<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 CLOCKIFY PRO TIP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn about the difference between full-time and part-time employees here: <\/p>\n\n\n\n To calculate FTEs for your entire organization, follow these steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A typical full-time work week consists of 40 working hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your standard work week consists of 40 hours, your employees probably work 8 hours per day. This can vary depending on your organization. For example, some employees may work 7 hours one day and 9 hours the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, you need to know the total work hours in a standard week at your company before you can calculate FTEs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 CLOCKIFY PRO TIP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you wonder how overtime work is taxed, check out the article below for more info:<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, list all your staff. Then, perform employment classification based on their weekly work hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your standard workweek is 40 hours, a full-time employee is anyone at your company who works 40 hours or more per week. Anyone who works less than your standard workweek (in this case, 40 hours) is considered a part-time employee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In most cases, you don\u2019t count independent contractors (1099 workers) since they\u2019re not considered employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 CLOCKIFY PRO TIP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn how to pay independent contractors easily here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, calculate how many hours both full-time and part-time employees have worked during the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Considering a year has 52 weeks, a full-time employee with a typical 40-hour workweek spends 2,080 hours working a year (40 hours x 52 weeks = 2,080).<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other hand, a part-time employee working 25 hours per week clocks in a total of 1,300 hours a year (25 hours x 52 weeks = 1,300).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bear in mind that some years have 53 weeks and adjust your calculation if necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 CLOCKIFY PRO TIP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Need to determine how many work hours your employees work during a fiscal year? Head to the following link for more info: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, you must calculate the sum of annual work hours<\/a> for all employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s assume you have 10 full-time employees working 40 hours per week and 3 part-time employees working 25 hours a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s how you would add your full-time employees\u2019 annual work hours: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Full-time employees: 10 x 2,080 = 20,800<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, for your part-time employees:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Part-time employees: 3 x 1,300 = 3,900<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To calculate the total FTE in your company, first determine the FTE of your part-time workers. To do that, divide the total number of hours worked by your part-time employees by the total number of annual hours worked by 1 full-time employee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In our example, we have 3 part-time employees working 25 hours per week, which equals 1,300 work hours per year (3,900 hours per year for all 3). On the other hand, 1 standard full-time employee works 2,080 annual work hours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n All things considered, here\u2019s how the calculation would go: <\/p>\n\n\n\n 3,900 \/ 2,080 = 1,875 (1.875 FTE)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore, 1.875 is the FTE of 1 part-time worker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, to calculate the total FTE within your organization, add the number of FTEs worked by your full-time employees to the part-time FTE. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Since 1 full-time employee working 40 hours a week equals 1.0 FTE, in our case of 10 full-time workers, that would be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 10 full-time workers x 1.0 FTE = 10.0 FTE <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Since we already have the part-time FTE, here\u2019s the total FTE with 3 part-time employees and 10 full-time employees:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Total FTE = 10.0 FTE (full-time FTE) + 1.875 (part-time FTE)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Total FTE = 11.87<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n To easily calculate the FTE for all your employees \u2014 part-time and full-time \u2014 use our free calculators provided below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u23ec Download the FTE calculator for all employees in Excel<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u23ec Download the FTE calculator for all employees in Google Sheets<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n Bear in mind, these are just simple FTE examples. In specific use cases, like project management or federal program eligibility, calculations may be more complex. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Since FTE calculations can vary depending on your needs, we\u2019ve also made the following calculators for specific use cases: <\/p>\n\n\n\n To easily calculate how many full-time equivalent employees you need for a project, budget analysts and managers can use the following free calculator:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u23ec Download the FTE calculator for project managers in Excel<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u23ec Download the FTE calculator for project managers in Google Sheets<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n All you need is the estimated time to complete the whole project and the number of daily hours your employees will work on that project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 CLOCKIFY PRO TIP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Need help making accurate time estimates for projects? Take a look at the following article: <\/p>\n\n\n\n To easily convert an employee\u2019s salary into a full-time equivalent salary for a full working year, you can use the following calculator free of charge:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u23ec Download the FTE salary calculator in Excel<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u23ec Download the FTE salary calculator in Google Sheets<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n In our example, the FTE salary calculation is: 12,000 \/ 0.375 = 32,000 as shown above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 CLOCKIFY PRO TIP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Struggling with accurate labor cost estimation? Read the following article that covers all relevant factors you should consider:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Track salary costs with Clockify<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the Affordable Care Act<\/a>, Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) must have at least 50 full-time equivalent employees, including part-time employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To quickly determine if you qualify as an Applicable Large Employer<\/a>, you can use the following calculators:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u23ec Download the FTE calculator for ALE in Excel<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u23ec Download the FTE calculator for ALE in Google Sheets<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n The calculator is straightforward \u2014 enter the required data, and it will determine if you\u2019re an Applicable Large Employer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To qualify for the small business tax credit program<\/a>, businesses must have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can use the following calculator to see if you qualify for a tax credit, with 3 different methods:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u23ec Download the FTE calculator for the small business tax credit program in Excel<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u23ec Download the FTE calculator for the small business tax credit program in Google Sheets<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n If you, for instance, choose the first method, enter all the actual hours worked (including PTO) and divide that number by 2,080 to get the final FTE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)<\/a> provides funds for small business owners to help them cover up to 24 weeks of payroll or other expenses, such as utilities and rent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Such businesses may have their loans fully forgiven if they maintain the same number of FTEs while receiving financial assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To make payroll calculation for eligibility for full forgiveness easier, you can use the following calculator:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u23ec Download the FTE calculator for PPP loan forgiveness in Excel<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u23ec Download the FTE calculator for PPP loan forgiveness in Google Sheets<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n For the SBA calculation method #1, enter the number of full-time employees and the total sum of work hours by part-time employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for the calculation method #2, enter the number of full-time employees again, and just the number of part-time employees to calculate the FTE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Track work hours with Clockify<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, we\u2019ll answer some of the most frequently asked questions about FTE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the IRS<\/a>, a US employee who works at least 30 hours per week or 130 hours per month is considered a full-time employee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In practice, these numbers fall somewhere between 30 and 40 hours per week, with 40 hours per week (8 hours per day, 5 days per week) being the most common norm for full-time employee scheduling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a>\u2019 data from April 2025, private-sector US employees (excluding the farm sector) work 34.3 hours per week on average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 CLOCKIFY PRO TIP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some tips on how to make the most of your 8-hour workday:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A 100% FTE is the same as a 1.0 FTE \u2014 therefore, 100% = 1.0 FTE<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This number may indicate that one person is working a full-time schedule or several people are fulfilling the duties of one full-time position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In one company, a full-time schedule typically consists of 40 hours per week. In another, it may be 37.5 hours per week. Since both are considered full-time schedules in their respective companies, each schedule counts as 100% or 1.0 FTE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A 90% FTE, which you can also express as 0.9 FTE, means an employee works 90% of the hours that the company requires from a full-time employee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If the company\u2019s full-time standard is 35 hours, this would mean working 31.5 hours per week. The calculation is simple: 35 full-time hours x 0.9 FTE = 31.5 hours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Time tracking software used by millions. Clockify by CAKE.com is a time tracker and timesheet app that lets you track work hours across projects.<\/p>\n\n An employee who works 75% of the hours of a full-time worker has a 0.75 FTE. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This usually amounts to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, temporary job positions are excluded from this rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether an FTE of 0.75 is considered full-time depends on the company policy. If 0.75 FTE is considered full-time in a company, employees may be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program \u2014 eligible employees don\u2019t have to pay out their federal student loans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, bear in mind that this only applies to employees who work 30 hours per week in a 0.75 FTE position, i.e., the IRS minimum for a full-time definition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In contrast, non-exempt positions that typically work only 28 hours per week on a 0.75 FTE schedule do not<\/strong> qualify, even if the employer policy defines them as full-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A 50% FTE, also expressed as 0.5 FTE, means that an employee works half the hours of a full-time employee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s say a company defines 1.0 FTE as the standard 40 hours per week. In this case, a 50% FTE employee would work 20 hours per week, which is 50% of the hours of a full-time worker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To understand how different working hours translate to FTE in a standard 40-hour workweek, check out the table below: <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"What](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/What-Is-Full-Time-Equivalent-How-to-Calculate-It-cover.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nWhat is the full-time equivalent (FTE)?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to work out FTE for an individual employee?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How to calculate FTEs for your company?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Step #1: Define your standard workweek<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Step #2: List your employees<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Step #3: Calculate the total annual work hours<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Step #4: Add up the total annual work hours for each employee<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step #5: Determine the part-time FTE<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step #6: Determine the total FTE<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FTE-calculator-for-all-employees.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nBonus FTE calculators<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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FTE calculator for project managers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FTE_calculator_for_project_managers.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
FTE calculator for salary estimation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FTE_salary_calculator.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
FTE calculator for Applicable Large Employers (ALE)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FTE_calculator_for_ALE.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nFTE calculator for the small business tax credit program<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FTE_calculator_for_small_businesses_tax-credit_program.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nFTE calculator for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FTE_calculator_for_PPP_loan_forgiveness.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nFAQ about FTE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What is a typical full-time schedule?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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What is 100% FTE?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What is 90% FTE?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Illustration\"](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/cake-blog\/theme\/images\/banners\/clockify\/landing-4@2x.png)
\n <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n\n\nWhat is 75% FTE? When is 75% FTE or higher considered full-time?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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What is 50% FTE? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Timer](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/timer-in-clockify.png\")
![\"Timesheets](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/timesheets-in-clockify.png\")
![\"Time](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/time-clock-kiosk-in-clockify.png\")