Europeans worked fewer hours in 2020
As a result of the pandemic and national lockdown measures, the way we
work has drastically changed. Eurostat
[https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/] figures show that overall, in 2020,
Europeans have collectively worked roughly 12% less, in terms of
working hours, compared to 2019.

This is partially due to COVID-19 response measures such as lockdowns,
which led many people to be more absent from their job than before. 

At the national level, the hours worked declined across all Member
States. The highest declines are for Greece (-19.7%), Spain (-19.5%),
Portugal and Italy (both -19.0%). Some EU countries experienced only a
small change, for example Finland (-4.4%), Denmark and Luxembourg
(both -4.1%), and the Netherlands (-3.2%).

Not only have the working hours decreased, the number of people
working less than their usual hours also increased. Throughout the EU,
26.9 million employed people reported to have worked less than their
usual hours in 2020 (compared to 24.4 million in 2019). This is mainly
the result of temporary lay-offs. 

Want to see these numbers visualised in a graph or looking for more
details? Find more information and the full dataset via Eurostat
[https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/ddn-20210723-1].

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Publication Date/Time
2021-08-27T06:00:00+00:00
Eurostat offers insights into a year of working in the pandemic