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Irish work one of shortest weeks in EU

Friday, October 05 11:47:41

Irish full time workers on average have one of the shortest working weeks in Europe at just 38.4 hours compared to the highest, which is the UK with 42.2 hours, latest figures from Eurostat show.

On average in the EU27, employees working full-time usually worked 40.4 hours a week in 2011, with women averaging 39.3 hours and men 41.1 hours.

The longest weekly working hours for full-time employees were observed in the United Kingdom (42.2 hours), Austria (41.8), Cyprus and Portugal (both 41.1), and the shortest in Denmark (37.7), Ireland (38.4), Italy (38.8) and the Netherlands (39.0).

In all Member States, men had longer working hours than women among full-time employees.

According to this latest Labour Force Survey, almost 70pc of employed persons (which includes both employees and self-employed) in the EU27 worked within the service sector in 2011, compared with 62pc in 2000. Market services, such as trade, transportation, financial activities etc. accounted for 39pc of persons employed in 2011, while mainly non-market services, such as public administration, education, health etc. accounted for 30pc. The industry and construction sector accounted for 25pc and agriculture for 5pc. . There is a considerable difference between Member States when comparing employment by sector. For agriculture, the share varied from less than 2pc of persons employed in Malta, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Germany to 29pc in Romania, 13pc in Poland and 12pc in Greece.

For industry, the proportions ranged from 13pc in Luxembourg and 17pc in the Netherlands to 38pc in the Czech Republic and 37pc in Slovakia. In the market services sector, the shares varied from 26pc in Romania and 34pc in Poland to 45pc in Ireland and Cyprus.

For mainly non-market services, the proportions ranged from 16pc in Romania and 22pc in Bulgaria to 42pc in Luxembourg and 38pc in Denmark and the Netherlands.