Atmospheric Methane (global) vs US Annual Working Hours per Worker

Atmospheric Methane (global) and US Annual Working Hours per Worker correlate at r = -0.56 over 40 years (1984–2023), p = 1.9e-4. With the time trend removed, r = +0.44. Direction flips without the trend.

Verdict: Direction flips without the trend. The raw correlation is -0.56, but once each series' time trend is removed it becomes 0.44. The year-to-year movements run the opposite way to the long-run trends, so the headline number is misleading.

Pearson r: -0.56
p-value: 1.9e-4
Years compared (n): 40 (1984–2023)
95% confidence interval: -0.74 to -0.30
Correlation with the time trend removed: +0.44

Sources

Atmospheric Methane (global) (ppb): NOAA GML. Global annual mean atmospheric methane from marine surface sites (NOAA GML).
US Annual Working Hours per Worker (hours): Our World in Data. US Annual Working Hours per Worker (Our World in Data: Working hours per worker).

Related pairs

Atmospheric Methane (global) vs US Natural Gas Consumption (r = +0.98)
Atmospheric Methane (global) vs US GDP per Capita (r = +0.98)
Atmospheric CO₂ (Mauna Loa) vs Atmospheric Methane (global) (r = +0.98)
Atmospheric Methane (global) vs US GDP (current US$) (r = +0.98)
Atmospheric Methane (global) vs US Median Age (r = +0.97)
Atmospheric Methane (global) vs US Population (r = +0.96)

Correlation does not imply causation. How the verdict is worked out.