According to data released by Eurostat, 6.6% of employed people in the EU between the ages of 20 and 64 in 2024 worked long hours, defined as 49 hours or more per week.
According to the European statistics office, the percentage of workers in this situation has decreased over the years, “falling from 9.8% in 2014 to 8.4% in 2019.”
In 2024, 6.6% of employed people aged 20 to 64 in the EU worked long hours, defined as usually spending 49 hours or more weekly in their main job. 💼👷
Highest shares in:
🇬🇷Greece (12.4%)
🇨🇾Cyprus (10.0%)
Lowest in:
🇧🇬Bulgaria (0.4%)
🇱🇻Latvia (1.0%)
👉https://t.co/Vzxx3kwW6V pic.twitter.com/I1fHQD3aru
— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) August 21, 2025
Portugal is above the EU average, ranking fourth in the European Union (EU) with the highest percentage of hours worked: 9.2% of workers between the ages of 20 and 64 worked 49 hours or more per week last year.
Among the other member states, Greece has the highest percentage of workers working long hours (12.4%), followed by Cyprus and France.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, with the lowest rate, is Bulgaria (0.4%), followed by Latvia (1.0%) and Lithuania (1.4%).
According to Eurostat, the percentage of self-employed workers who worked long hours (27.5% of all self-employed workers) was higher than that of salaried workers (3.4% of all salaried workers).
Among the various occupational groups, long working hours were most common among skilled workers in agriculture, forestry, and fishing (26.2% of all workers in this occupational group) and managers (21.1%).
