Living conditions in Europe - work intensity

Data extracted in October 2024.

Planned article update: February 2026.

Highlights

In 2023, 8.1% of the EU population aged 0 to 64 years lived in households with very low work intensity. Belgium reported the highest rate (10.5%) and Malta the lowest (3.6%).

Significant regional disparities in very low work intensity rates were recorded in France, Italy, Germany, Belgium and Spain, in 2023.

In 2023, 6.6% of EU households with children and 10.5% of those without faced very low work intensity, with Denmark showing the highest differences between the 2 groups.

This article focuses on the population aged 0 to 64 years living in households with very low work intensity within the European Union (EU) in 2023. The analysis is carried out over time, at national and regional levels and considering households' composition as well as their socio-economic characteristics. All figures are based on EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) available from Eurostat's online database. EU-SILC data are available for all EU Member States, as well as for most of the EFTA and candidate countries.

Low work intensity

The work intensity of a household is the ratio of the total number of months that adult household members (as defined in the context section) have worked during the income reference year and the total number of months the same household members theoretically could have worked in the same period. It is defined in levels, ranging from very low (household working time was equal to or less than 20% of the full potential) to very high (working time was more than 85% of the full potential).

Generally, the higher the work intensity within a household (the closer people are to full employment), the lower the probability of being at-risk-of-poverty.

The profile of people in the EU living in households with very low work intensity

Men and people with a low level of educational attainment were, on average, more likely to live in households with very low work intensity in 2023 (see Figure 1).

When analysed by sex, very low work intensity in the EU was higher for men than for women (8.3% and 7.7%, respectively).

In terms of educational attainment, at EU level, 17.6% of all people aged 18 years and over with a low level of educational attainment (ISCED levels 0-2) lived in households with very low work intensity, compared with 4.2% of people in the same age group with a tertiary (high) level of educational attainment (ISCED levels 5-8). The corresponding percentage for people with a medium level of educational attainment (ISCED levels 3-4) was 7.2%.

Figure 1: Share of people living in households with very low work intensity (population aged 0 to 64 years), analysed by sex and education, EU, 2023
(%)
Source: Eurostat (ilc_lvhl11n) and (ilc_lvhl14n)

Very low work intensity in 2023 highest in Belgium and lowest in Malta

In 2023, 8.1% of the EU population aged 0 to 64 years lived in households with very low work intensity (see Figure 2). This percentage ranged from 4.0% or lower in Malta (3.6%), Slovenia (3.8%), Luxembourg (3.9%) and Poland (4.0%) to over 9.0% in France (9.2%), Denmark (9.8%), Germany (9.9%) and Belgium (10.5%).

Figure 2: Persons living in households with very low work intensity (population aged 0 to 64 years) in 2022 and 2023
(%)
Source: Eurostat (ilc_lvhl13n)

In 2023, the percentage of the EU population aged 0 to 64 years living in households with very low work intensity was 0.2 percentage points (pp) lower than in 2022 (see Figure 3), decreasing from 8.3% to 8.1%. The largest decreases were observed in Bulgaria (1.6 pp), Finland (1.5 pp), Hungary and Greece (both 1.2 pp). Increases were observed in 10 EU countries, with the largest in Denmark and Romania (both 1.0 pp), Slovakia (0.8 pp), Portugal (0.7 pp) and Czechia (0.6 pp).

Figure 3: Change in the share of people living in households with very low work intensity (population aged 0 to 64 years) between 2022 and 2023
(percentage point)
Source: Eurostat (ilc_lvhl13n)

Lowest inter-regional disparities in very low work intensity rates in Lithuania, the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, Finland and Slovenia

Map 1 illustrates the share of the EU population aged 0 to 64 years living in households characterised by very low work intensity at the NUTS level 2 in 2023. Among all EU regions, Guyane (France) reported the highest regional share, with more than two-fifths (41.7%) facing such conditions.

In addition, several other regions within the EU reported elevated rates of very low work intensity, exceeding 19.0%. These regions included La Réunion and Guadeloupe (France), Bremen (Germany), Province Hainaut (Belgium), Veneto (Italy) and Ciudad de Melilla (Spain). Conversely, all regions in Slovenia had a share below 5.0%.

Significant inter-regional disparities in very low work intensity rates were observed in France, Italy and Germany, with variations exceeding 18 pp. By contrast, Slovenia, Finland and Ireland had inter-regional differences of less than 2.5 pp.

Map 1: Population living in households with very low work intensity (population aged 0 to 64 years) by NUTS level 2 regions, 2023
Source: Eurostat (ilc_lvhl13n) and (ilc_lvhl21n)

Very low work intensity rates higher among people living in households without dependent children

In 2023, the proportion of the EU population aged 0 to 64 years living in very low work-intensity households was 6.6% for people living in households with dependent children, compared with 10.5% for households without dependent children (see Figure 4), reflecting a difference of 3.9 pp.

Figure 4: Share of the population living in households with very low work intensity (population aged 0 to 64 years), analysed by household type, 2023
(%)
Source: Eurostat (ilc_lvhl13n)

The presence of dependent children had an effect on the share of the population living in households with very low work intensity in Denmark and Greece: rates were respectively 10.1 pp and 8.9 pp lower for people living in households with dependent children. Slovakia and Ireland were the only EU countries where the rate was higher for households with dependent children, with a difference of 1.3 pp and 0.8 pp, respectively, as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Gap between the share of the population living in households with very low work intensity (population aged 0 to 64 years) with and without dependent children, 2023
(percentage point)
Source: Eurostat (ilc_lvhl13n)

Source data for tables and graphs

Work Intensity: maps, tables and figures

Data sources

The data used in this article are derived from EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC). EU-SILC data are compiled annually and are the main source of statistics that measure income and living conditions in Europe. It is also the main source of information used to link different aspects relating to the quality of life of households and individuals.

The reference population for the information presented in this article is all private households and their current members residing in the territory of an EU Member State (or non-EU member country) at the time of data collection. Persons living in collective households are generally excluded from the target population. The data for the EU are population-weighted averages of national data.

Context

The work intensity of a household is the ratio of the total number of months that all adults household members have worked during the income reference year and the total number of months the same household members theoretically could have worked in the same period.

'Adults' refers to people aged 18 to 64 years. Students aged 18 to 24 years; people who are retired according to their self-defined current economic status or who receive any pension (except survivor's pension); and people in the age bracket 60 to 64 years who are inactive and living in a household where the main income is pensions, are not taken into account. Work intensity is considered very low when the adults of the household had a working time equal to or less than 20% of their total combined work-time potential during the previous year. By contrast, work intensity is considered very high when the adults of the household had a working time more than 85% of their total combined work-time potential.

The low work intensity indicator (LWI) is part of the at risk of poverty or social exclusion rate defined in the framework of the EU 2030 target on poverty and social exclusion (AROPE). The AROPE ratio is the share of the total population which is at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

The headline target (EU2030 target) on poverty and social inclusion of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan is to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by at least 15 million by 2030. Progress towards this target is monitored through the AROPE rate, published by Eurostat.

Educational attainment level is classified according to ISCED — the international standard classification of education:

ISCED level 0 — early childhood education;
ISCED level 1 — primary education;
ISCED level 2 — lower secondary education;
ISCED level 3 — (upper) secondary education;
ISCED level 4 — post-secondary non-tertiary education;
ISCED level 5 — short-cycle tertiary education;
ISCED level 6 — bachelor's or equivalent level;
ISCED level 7 — master's or equivalent level;
ISCED level 8 — doctoral or equivalent level.

For this article, the levels are grouped as follows: low education (levels 0–2), medium education (levels 3–4), and high education (levels 5–8).

Explore further

Methodology

External links

Legislation

Detailed list of legislative information on EU-SILC provisions for survey design, survey characteristics, data transmission and ad-hoc modules
Regulation (EC) No 2019/1700 — the central piece of legislation for social surveys including EU-SILC
Regulation (EC) No 2019/2242 — additional central piece of legislation for EU-SILC
Summaries of EU Legislation: EU statistics on income and living conditions