The issue: Census surveys offer insights into how Americans are coping

How have Americans been dealing with the recession? Largely by staying put, according to two recent surveys.

THE U.S. CENSUS says the population of the countryÕs largest cities stabilized and even increased last year. Nineteen of the 34 cities over 500,000 population grew faster last year than the year before. Chicago, Dallas, Denver and Seattle posted record gains for the decade.

The contraction of the housing market persuaded young city dwellers to postpone the traditional migration to the suburbs and dimmed the attractiveness for their elders of such traditional magnets as Florida, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Albuquerque. In fact, in Florida, two of the stateÕs 19 cities over 100,000 Ñ St. Petersburg and Cape Coral Ñ actually lost people.

Meanwhile, a U.S. Department of Labor time-use survey found that, last year, the average American 15 or older spent 3 hours and 11 minutes a day working, down 17 minutes from 2007 when the recession started. (Mind you, this is a population that includes retirees, the unemployed and students.) Americans also spent moderately less time in sports, leisure and civic activities and eating and drinking.

SO WHAT DID we do with the extra time? Mostly slept and watched TV. The amount of time sleeping rose six minutes to eight hours and 40 minutes a day. The length of time devoted to watching TV rose 12 minutes to two hours and 49 minutes a day. (Men, it will come as no surprise, watch 32 minutes more TV a day than women do.)

To paraphrase the old expression: When the times get tough, the tough take to the couch.

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