According to a calculation by the Institute of the German Economy (IW), Germans work fewer hours compared to most other economic nations on an international level. As reported by “Bild am Sonntag” Germany in 2023 recorded approximately 1,036 worked hours per person in the working age group (15-64 years).
Among all OECD countries, this places Germany in the third-to-last position, with only France (about 1,027 hours) and Belgium (approximately 1,021 hours) working fewer hours per person in the working age group. New Zealand had the highest number of working hours (around 1,402 hours per person in the working age group), followed by the Czech Republic (about 1,326 hours) and Israel (around 1,312 hours). However, in comparison to 2013, Germans worked more hours in 2023, with 1,013 hours per person in the working age group.
“I compare to the 1970s, we work less, but since the reunification, we tend to work slightly more” said IW labor market expert and study author Holger Schäfer in an interview with “Bild am Sonntag.”
Nevertheless, many other countries were still below Germany’s working hours in 2013, such as Italy (2013: 945 hours, 2023: 1,066 hours), Spain (2013: 926, 2023: 1,067), or Hungary (2013: 1,011, 2023: 1,258).
Schäfer is convinced that “these numbers prove that we in Germany underutilize our workforce potential, despite the above-average demographic challenges.”
IW President Michael Hüther told “Bild am Sonntag” “We all experience the skills shortage on a daily basis: restaurants are often closed more frequently than before. Care workers are overworked because they have too few colleagues. Similarly, it looks in kindergartens and small handicraft businesses.” Looking towards the future, he warned, “By the end of this decade, we will be short of approximately 4.2 billion working hours.