Does Time Machine make back-ups when nobody is logged on?

Hello,
Does Time Machine make back-ups when nobody is logged on and does it continue to back-up when I log off?
I'm using an directly connected external hard drive to back-up my data with Time Machine, the back-ups are encrypted.
Thanks in advance.

I had the same problem with Time Machine and solved it by enabling "Enable Power Nap" in Energy Saver:
System Preferences...
Energy Saver
Restore Defaults
Check "Enable Power Nap: While sleeping, your Mac can back up using Time Machine and periodically check for new email, calendar, and other iCloud updates."
2013 21.5 iMac
OSX Mavericks
Seagate 1 TB slim USB 3.0 (power is drawn from USB port), formatted to Mac Journaling File System

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