Why and where are weekly working hours dropping in Europe?

Euronews

a day ago

Workers in Europe have been gradually putting in fewer hours. Over the past 10 years, the average time spent working per week has declined by one hour in the EU. In nearly half of 34 European countries, the drop was even greater — more than one hour between 2014 and 2024. Weekly working hours also vary significantly across the continent.
So, in which European countries do people spend the most time at the grindstone? How has actual working time changed across the region? And what could be the possible reasons behind this decline?
According to Eurostat, in 2024, the actual weekly working hours for both full-time and part-time workers aged 20 to 64 in their main job ranged from 32.1 hours in the Netherlands to 39.8 hours in Greece. When including EU candidate countries, EFTA members, and the UK, the highest figure was recorded in Turkey (43.1), where average weekly working time exceeded 43 hours.
People in Southern and Eastern European countries tend to work longer hours, with particularly high figures in EU candidate countries. Following Turkey, which tops the list at 43.1 hours, are Serbia (41.3) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (41.1). Montenegro hasn't reported data for 2024, although its working hours came to 42.8 in 2020.
The next countries in the ranking also belong to the same region: Greece (39.8) and Bulgaria (39). North Macedonia, which only has data spanning up to 2020, also recorded a weekly working total of 39 hours.
These countries generally have lower wages, higher informal employment, and less part-time work.
Western and Northern European countries generally have shorter work weeks. Countries like the Netherlands (32.1), Norway (33.7), and Austria and Denmark (33.9) all report significantly fewer weekly working hours. These regions are characterized by strong labour protections, higher productivity, and widespread use of part-time and flexible work arrangements.
Among Europe's largest economies, the UK and Spain (both at 36.4 hours) and Italy (36.1) report the highest average working times, all above the EU average. However, the UK data dates back to 2019, so the actual figure may be lower today, given the overall downward trend in working hours.
When comparing weekly working hours in 2014 and 2024, only four out of 34 countries saw an increase. In three of these countries, the rise was minimal: Lithuania and Cyprus (both by 12 minutes), and Malta (6 minutes). Serbia was the exception, with a significant increase of 1.7 hours — 1 hour 42 minutes.
Weekly working time remained unchanged in France, while the decrease was less than half an hour in Italy, Sweden, and Latvia.
In 16 out of 34 countries, weekly working time fell by more than one hour — exceeding two hours in some cases.
Iceland (3.5 hours) closely followed Turkey (3.8 hours) at the top. Belgium and Luxembourg also recorded significant declines, with a reduction of 2.5 hours each in weekly working time.
In a further seven countries, weekly working hours declined by 1.5 hours or more. These include Denmark and Austria (both 1.9), Germany (1.8), Estonia (1.7), Czechia (1.6), and Portugal and Croatia (1.5).
Scholars and experts have been examining the reasons behind the decline in weekly working hours, offering various explanations. A recent working paper published by the European Commission analysed work time trends in six EU countries between 1992 and 2022. Sergio Torrejón Pérez and his colleagues found that:
Decline in working time is primarily linked to the growing prevalence of non-standard forms of work, mainly part-time work.
Part-time jobs have grown mostly because more women are working and because more jobs are in service industries.
Full-time workers are working more or less the same amount of hours as in the 1980s.
Self-employed people are working fewer hours over time because more of them are working part-time. Even so, they are still working the longest hours on average.
A paper published by the European Central Bank analysed working time in the euro area from 1995 to 2020. Vasco Botelho and his colleagues emphasised that the decline in hours contributed per worker is a long-term trend.
One reason is that technological progress over the past 150 years has transformed the nature of work.
They found that other key factors include the rising share of part-time employment, and the increase in female labour force participation, which is also closely linked to the growth of part-time work.
The decline in working time is driven by both demand and supply-side factors, according to the ECB report. Most part-time workers choose this arrangement voluntarily, opting to work fewer hours than full-time employees. In the overall sample, about 10% of workers reported that they would prefer to work more hours than they currently do.
Another working paper from the IMF by Diva Astinova and her colleagues also found that declines in actual working hours match declines in desired working hours in Europe.
'Increased income and wealth is likely to be the main force behind the decline in desired and actual hours worked,' they suggested.
In other words, researchers proposed that people feel less of a financial pull to put in more hours.
European equities tumbled when the market opened on Friday and oil prices surged, as investors reacted to Israel's large-scale air strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure, fuelling fears of a broader Middle East conflict.
The operation, named Rising Lion, marks the most extensive Israeli military action on Iranian soil to date, targeting over 100 facilities including the Natanz complex and missile sites near Tehran.
As of 9.15am CEST, the Euro STOXX 50 had dropped 1.5%, extending weekly losses to 2.7% — the worst performance since early April.
Financials led the downturn among Eurozone blue chips. Deutsche Bank fell 2.73%, UniCredit 2.56%, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria 2.48% and Banco Santander 2.46%.
Germany's DAX lost 1.34% to 23,453, France's CAC 40 dropped 1.35% to 7,660, Italy's FTSE MIB retreated 1.68% to 39,271, and Spain's IBEX 35 fell 1.70% to 13,849.
Oil prices surged following the Israeli strike, as markets began to price in a higher geopolitical risk premium. Brent crude jumped over 5% to trade at $73 (€68) per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate rose to $71.5 (€66.60). For the week, oil prices are up more than 10%, on track for the strongest weekly gain since October 2022.
As energy prices rallied, oil majors such as Italy's Eni and Spain's Repsol gained 2%.
German defence powerhouse Rheinmetall also rose 2% as investors turned to military and security-exposed stocks.
Dutch TTF natural gas futures climbed 2% to €37.12 per megawatt hour, amid concerns over potential disruptions to energy flows.
The Israeli campaign involved over 200 fighter jets, according to the IDF, and reportedly resulted in the death of senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders Hossein Salami and Mohammad Bagheri.
Demand for safe-haven assets surged. Gold rose 1% to $3,430 (€3,200) per ounce, nearing its all-time high of $3,500. Silver also held ground, hitting $36.5 per ounce overnight.
The dollar gained strength following days of steady declines. The euro fell 0.5% to $1.1540 after touching a three-year high of 1.16 on Thursday. On the data front, Germany's final inflation reading for May was confirmed at 2.1% year-over-year. Spain's annual inflation was upwardly revised from 1.9% to 2%.
The pound also slipped 0.5% to $1.1350.
The Israeli shekel tumbled 1.8% against the dollar, heading for its steepest daily loss since the Hamas attack of October 2023.
'The Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities has sent oil prices spiking and has offered the oversold and undervalued dollar a catalyst for a rebound,' said Francesco Pesole, currency strategist at ING.
While there are currently no confirmed disruptions to oil production, analysts warn that the situation could escalate rapidly.
'The key difference from previous standoffs is that nuclear facilities have now been targeted,' Pesole added.
Warren Patterson, head of commodities research at ING, noted: 'In a scenario where we see continued escalation, there's the potential for disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Almost a third of global seaborne oil trade moves through that route.'
He warned that up to 14 million barrels per day could be at risk, with oil potentially surging to $120 per barrel in the event of a prolonged disruption — levels not seen since 2008.