Here’s the translation to American English:
In 2024, it was reported that 6.6% of workers in the European Union, aged between 20 and 64, devoted 49 hours or more to their main job each week. This figure shows a significant decrease compared to previous years, where in 2014 the percentage was 9.8% and in 2019 it reached 8.4%.
Among EU countries, Greece tops the list, with 12.4% of its workforce subjected to long working hours. It is followed by Cyprus at 10%, and France at 9.9%. In contrast, Bulgaria has the lowest proportion, with just 0.4%, followed by Latvia and Lithuania, which report 1% and 1.4%, respectively.
Notably, 27.5% of self-employed workers face the challenge of long working hours, which contrasts sharply with 3.4% of employees in similar conditions. Among different occupational categories, workers in agriculture, forestry, and fishing report the longest hours, reaching 26.2%. High figures are also observed in the management sector, where 21.1% of managers reported long working days.
This landscape not only reflects concerning trends regarding the workload in certain sectors but also suggests an overall decline in excessive working hours in the region. The evolution of these data is crucial for designing labor policies and improving the well-being of the working population in Europe.
Source: MiMub in Spanish
