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In 2022, the usual working week for people aged 20-64 in the EU averaged 37.5 hours.

Significant differences among EU countries are visible. The longest working weeks were recorded in Greece (41.0 hours), Poland (40.4), Romania and Bulgaria (40.2 both). 

By contrast, the Netherlands had the shortest working week (33.2 hours), followed by Germany (35.3) and Denmark (35.4).

Source dataset: lfsa_ewhun2

This article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article based on the data from the EU Labour Force Survey (LFS).
 

For more information

 

Methodological notes

  • The average working hours presented in the article include both full-time and part-time workers. Consequently, the different shares of part-time workers across countries influence the results, in addition to the different legal and usual length of the working week.
  • Usual hours worked are the number of hours per week usually worked in the main job. They are the modal value of the actual hours worked per week over a long reference period, excluding weeks when an absence from work occurs (e.g. holidays, leaves, strikes). They provide a measurement of the organisation of working time.

 

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