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Summary: Although the poultry industry has developed into an intensive management system over the past several decades, current trends are moving toward extensive systems with decreased hen-stocking density. However, there is limited information on the resource demands of such systems, particularly with regards to labor requirements. Labor h commitment per hen originally housed and hens surviving were evaluated for 4 different environments: range, cage-free, modified cage, and conventional cage. Within each system, 3 strains of brown egg layers were examined to determine whether production system influenced labor h. Data collection began at 33 wk of age and continued until 89 wk in all environments. Range systems demonstrated the highest labor h requirement for both the hens originally housed and hens surviving measurements, particularly during the summer months when pasture management within the paddocks was time consuming. Conventional and modified cage systems required the least time commitment with cage-free serving as an intermediate. Cage-free labor h increased toward the end of the cycle as maintaining litter quality within the house became more demanding. The cost of labor h was not offset by the price per dozen eggs produced, and the difference was greater in the extensive systems. This study supports previous findings that extensive layer production systems require greater labor h and provides an economic perspective to the increased time commitment.