Weekly hours worked by Irish men fall below 40 for the first time

Average hours worked by all Irish people falls to new low

In 2023, Irish men in full-time employment worked 40.4 hours per week which dropped to 39.8 last year.

The average weekly hours worked by Irish people fell again last year to a low of 35.1 hours, below the EU average of 36 hours per week, while male full-time workers dropped below 40 hours for the first time.

New data from the European statistics agency Eurostat shows the average hours worked for full and part-time workers fell from 35.5 hours in 2023, representing a drop of 24  minutes on average.

Male full-time workers in Ireland also dropped below the 40 hours per week for the first time, falling to 39.8 hours per week last year from 40.4 hours in 2023. Irish women in full-time employment worked an average of 36.1 hours last year.

Eurostat said the longest working weeks in the EU for full and part-time workers were recorded in Greece at 39.8 hours, Bulgaria at 39 and Poland at 38.9 hours. The Netherlands had the shortest working week in the EU at 32.1 hours, followed by Denmark, Germany and Austria at 33.9 hours each. Amongst EU countries, Ireland is placed in seventh position behind Finland on 34.9 hours but ahead of Sweden on 35.7 hours.

The data shows a wide variance amongst Irish workers depending on what sector they are in. 

In Ireland, agricultural and forestry workers have the longest working week at 48.2 hours.

Agricultural and forestry workers in Ireland spend an average of 48.2 hours at work, followed by construction workers at 39.2 hours. Education workers had the lowest number of hours per week at 29.4, followed by arts and entertainment workers at 31.1 hours.

The data is based on actual hours worked, including overtime and excludes travel time and work absences. 

Across the EU, male full-time workers recorded an average of 39.6 hours per week with women working 37.7 hours. Across the EU, male and female part-time workers both worked 22 hours on average.

The data is based on a quarterly survey made up of around 1.2 million interviews conducted throughout the participating countries.