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How to Calculate FTE (Full-Time Equivalent)

By Frame Sixty Labs · Last updated: November 11, 2026

What does FTE actually measure?

FTE turns a mix of full-time and part-time schedules into one comparable number: how many full-time people the same hours would add up to. Headcount counts people. FTE counts hours. A shop with six employees and a shop with four can be doing exactly the same amount of work, and FTE is the figure that shows it.

That is why budgets, staffing plans, grant applications and benefits reports ask for FTE rather than a list of names. The formula is one division:

FTE = total hours in the period ÷ full-time hours in the same period

The division is easy. The two things that go wrong are the inputs: a team total added incorrectly from hours and minutes, and a full-time figure that does not match the period the hours came from.

How do I calculate FTE step by step?

1. Choose the period and the full-time basis. Decide whether you are measuring a week, a pay period, a month or a year, and what one full-time person works in it. On a 40-hour schedule that is 40 for a week, 80 for two weeks and 2,080 for a year. The table further down lists the rest.
2. Decide which hours count. Paid hours (including holidays and paid time off) or hours actually worked? Can one person count for more than 1.0? Both choices are covered below; settle them before you add anything.
3. Total each person’s hours in H:MM. Add their shifts as hours and minutes, carrying every 60 minutes into an hour. Our guide to adding hours and minutes shows the carrying.
4. Add everyone’s totals. This team total is the top of the fraction.
5. Convert the total to decimal hours. Divide the minutes by 60 and add them to the hours. 167:50 is 167.83 hours, not 167.50.
6. Divide by the full-time hours. Round the result to two decimal places at the very end.

Worked example: six people, one 40-hour week

A small shop treats 40:00 a week as full-time. Two people work full-time and four work part-time. Sam, for example, worked four shifts: 6:15 + 5:45 + 6:30 + 5:45. The minutes are 15 + 45 + 30 + 45 = 135, which is 2:15. The hours are 6 + 5 + 6 + 5 = 22. Sam’s week is 22:00 + 2:15 = 24:15. Totaling everyone the same way:

The team total. 40:00 + 40:00 + 32:30 + 24:15 + 18:45 + 12:20. The minutes are 30 + 15 + 45 + 20 = 110, which is 1:50. The hours are 40 + 40 + 32 + 24 + 18 + 12 = 166. Together that is 167:50. Check it in minutes: 2,400 + 2,400 + 1,950 + 1,455 + 1,125 + 740 = 10,070, and 10,070 ÷ 60 = 167 hours with 50 minutes left over.

Convert. 50 ÷ 60 = 0.8333, so 167:50 is 167.8333 hours.

Divide. 167.8333 ÷ 40 = 4.1958, which rounds to 4.20 FTE.

Six people on the schedule, 4.20 full-time equivalents of work. You can also get there one person at a time — 1.00 + 1.00 + 0.8125 + 0.60625 + 0.46875 + 0.30833 = 4.1958 — which is useful when you need each person’s FTE as well as the team’s. Dividing the team total once is quicker and avoids rounding six numbers separately.

How many hours is 1 FTE in each period?

One FTE is whatever your employer defines as a full-time schedule, scaled to the period you are measuring. The top and bottom of the fraction must cover the same period: weekly hours over a weekly basis, annual hours over an annual basis.

The monthly and semi-monthly rows are averages (the annual figure divided by 12 or 24), because real months hold different numbers of working days. Our guides to work hours in a month and work hours in a year explain where 173:20 and 2,080 come from.

What FTE is a part-time schedule?

For a single person on a steady schedule, FTE is weekly hours divided by the full-time week. The same hours are a larger FTE where full-time is shorter.

Going the other way, multiply the FTE by the full-time hours. A 0.6 FTE position on a 40-hour basis is 0.6 × 40 = 24:00 a week. A 0.8 FTE position on a 37:30 basis is 0.8 × 37.5 = 30:00 a week. A 0.5 FTE position on that same 37:30 basis is 18.75 hours, which is 18:45, not 18:75. For more on what counts as part-time, see part-time vs full-time hours.

How do I calculate FTE for a month or a year?

Use the same division with a longer period. The only new decision is which full-time figure to put underneath.

A month. Say the same team logs 702:40 in November 2026. 40 minutes is 0.6667 of an hour, so that is 702.6667 hours.

• Against the average month of 173:20 (173.3333 hours): 702.6667 ÷ 173.3333 = 4.05 FTE
• Against November’s own 21 weekdays (21 × 8 = 168 hours): 702.6667 ÷ 168 = 4.18 FTE

Same hours, two honest answers, 0.13 FTE apart. The average-month basis makes short months look understaffed and long months look overstaffed; the actual-weekday basis does not. Either is acceptable as long as you use the same one every month and say which it is.

A year. Divide the year’s hours by 2,080 (or your own full-time year). A part-timer who logged 1,092:30 over the year is 1,092.5 ÷ 2,080 = 0.5252, or 0.53 FTE. A seasonal worker who did 13 full 40-hour weeks worked 520 hours: 1.00 FTE while employed, but 520 ÷ 2,080 = 0.25 FTE for the year. Annual FTE is what most budgets and reports mean, which is why seasonal and mid-year hires count for less than one.

If you only have a few sample weeks, find the average week first and divide that by 40. Our guide to average hours per week covers which weeks belong in the average.

Does overtime make someone more than 1.0 FTE?

It depends on what the number is for, and the two conventions give different answers.

Suppose Maya works 46:30 instead of 40:00 in the example week. The team total rises by 6:30 to 174:20, which is 174.3333 hours.

• Workload FTE (count every hour): 174.3333 ÷ 40 = 4.3583, or 4.36 FTE. Maya alone is 46.5 ÷ 40 = 1.16. This answers “how much work was done?”
• Capped FTE (nobody above 1.0): Maya counts as 1.00, so the team stays at 4.20 FTE. This answers “how many full-time positions do we have?”

If the workload figure sits well above the capped one week after week, that gap is overtime doing the job of an unfilled position.

Should FTE use hours worked or hours paid?

Again, it depends on the question. Budgets and position counts normally use paid hours, because a full-time employee on holiday still fills a full-time position. Productivity and coverage use hours actually worked.

If Priya’s 32:30 for the week includes an 8:00 paid holiday, she worked 24:30. On paid hours she is 32.5 ÷ 40 = 0.81 FTE. On worked hours she is 24.5 ÷ 40 = 0.61 FTE. Neither is wrong, but mixing the two inside one total is.

How many FTE does it take to cover a schedule?

Run the formula in reverse: add up the hours that must be staffed, then divide by what one full-time person supplies.

One post staffed around the clock is 24 × 7 = 168 hours a week. On paid hours that is 168 ÷ 40 = 4.2 FTE. But people take holidays and time off, and the post still has to be covered. Over a year the post needs 168 × 52 = 8,736 hours. If a full-time person is paid for 2,080 hours but actually on the job for 1,880 after 10 holidays and 15 days off (2,080 − 200), the real requirement is 8,736 ÷ 1,880 = 4.6468, or about 4.65 FTE.

The difference between 4.2 and 4.65 is almost half a position. Staffing to the paid-hours figure is how schedules end up permanently short. For estimating the hours a job needs in the first place, see how to calculate man-hours.

What are the common mistakes?

• Typing H:MM as a decimal. Enter the example week as 40 + 40 + 32.30 + 24.15 + 18.45 + 12.20 and the total is 167.10 instead of 167.83 — 44 minutes of work gone. The result is 4.18 FTE instead of 4.20. Small here; across a year of weekly figures or a larger team it is a real fraction of a position. A phone calculator does exactly this, as our post on why a phone calculator can’t add time explains.
• Mismatched periods. Biweekly hours divided by 40 double the answer; a month divided by 160 inflates it by about 8% against the 173:20 average. Check that both numbers describe the same stretch of time.
• Using scheduled hours. FTE built from the rota describes the plan. FTE built from timesheets describes what happened. If you are reporting actuals, use the punches.
• Counting heads. Two half-time people are 1.0 FTE, not 2. Six employees are 4.20 FTE in the example, and reporting “6” overstates the team by 43%.
• Assuming every FTE is 40 hours. If your full-time week is 37:30, a 30-hour employee is 0.80 FTE, not 0.75. Use your employer’s own definition.
• Mixing paid and worked hours, or capped and uncapped. Pick one convention for the whole calculation and state it next to the number.
• Using your own definition for someone else’s form. Government programs, grants and benefits rules often define FTE their own way. In the US, for example, the Affordable Care Act’s employer rules use a 30-hour week as full-time and convert part-time hours with a 120-hour month rather than a 40-hour week. When a form asks for FTE, use that form’s current instructions.

Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate FTE?

Add up the hours everyone worked or was paid for in a period and divide by the hours one full-time person works in that same period. Six people totaling 167:50 (167.83 hours) in a 40-hour week are 167.83 ÷ 40 = 4.20 FTE.

How many hours is 1 FTE?

One FTE is whatever the employer defines as a full-time schedule. On a 40-hour week it is 40 hours a week, 80 per biweekly period, about 173.33 a month and 2,080 a year. On a 37.5-hour week it is 1,950 hours a year.

What is 0.5 FTE in hours?

Multiply the FTE by the full-time hours. On a 40-hour week, 0.5 FTE is 20 hours a week and 1,040 hours a year. On a 37.5-hour week it is 18.75 hours, which is 18:45.

Is FTE the same as headcount?

No. Headcount counts people; FTE counts hours. Six employees who together work 167:50 in a 40-hour week are a headcount of 6 but 4.20 FTE.

Can one person be more than 1.0 FTE?

It depends on what the number is for. A workload measure counts all hours, so a 46:30 week is 1.16 FTE on a 40-hour basis. Position counts and many reporting definitions cap each person at 1.0. Follow the definition of whoever is asking for the figure.

Should FTE use hours worked or hours paid?

Budgets and position counts usually use paid hours, which include holidays and paid time off. Productivity and staffing coverage use hours actually worked. A person paid 32:30 in a week that includes an 8-hour holiday is 0.81 FTE on paid hours and 0.61 on worked hours.