Newsroom
About one in 10 workers in Cyprus put in long hours each week, placing the island nation second in the European Union only to Greece, according to Eurostat data released Thursday.
The EU statistics agency reported that 10% of Cypriot employees work 49 hours or more per week, compared with the EU average of 6.6%. Despite the high ranking, the figures mark an improvement over the past decade.
Across the EU, the proportion of people aged 20 to 64 working long hours has steadily declined, falling from 9.8% in 2014 to 8.4% in 2019, before reaching 6.6% in 2024.
Greece led the bloc with 12.4% of workers putting in extended hours, followed by Cyprus at 10% and France at 9.9%. The lowest rates were observed in Bulgaria (0.4%), Latvia (1%), and Lithuania (1.4%).
Eurostat also noted differences between employment types. Among the self-employed, 27.5% reported long working weeks, compared with just 3.4% of regular employees.
Certain occupations were especially affected. Skilled agricultural, forestry, and fishery workers recorded the highest share of long hours at 26.2%, followed by managers at 21.1%, based on the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO).
