Nicosia: Cyprus ranks second in the European Union for the percentage of employed individuals aged 20 to 64 who worked 49 hours or more weekly in their main job in 2024, with 10% of employed people working long hours.
According to Cyprus News Agency, in 2024, 6.6% of employed individuals aged 20 to 64 across the EU worked long hours, which is defined as usually spending 49 hours or more weekly at their main job. This represents a decrease from previous years, with 9.8% recorded in 2014 and 8.4% in 2019.
Among EU nations, Greece reported the highest share of workers with long hours at 12.4%, followed closely by Cyprus at 10%, and France at 9.9%. Conversely, the lowest rates were observed in Bulgaria (0.4%), Latvia (1%), and Lithuania (1.4%).
The data also revealed that self-employed individuals were more likely to work long hours, with 27.5% of total self-employed people doing so, compared to just 3.4% of total employees.
Among various occupational categories, as defined by the international standard classification of occupations (ISCO), long working hours were most prevalent among skilled agricultural, forestry, and fishery workers, with 26.2% working long hours, followed by managers at 21.1%.