Employees worked a total of 55 billion hours last year, according to a study by the German Institute for Economic Research. This is the highest number since reunification.
Women's labor force participation in Germany rose by 16 points to 73 percent between 1991 and 2022. However, women still spend significantly more time on child care and housework than men. If the current trend continues, it will take decades, especially when it comes to childcare, before men and women spend the same amount of time on it. The working hours realized do not necessarily correspond to the wishes of the employees, the study found... There is more work being done in Germany than ever before - this is the result of a study by the DIW. The increased participation of women in professional life plays a particularly important role. This leads to a relatively low average working time for all employees of 34.7 hours per week compared to Europe, while in Spain it is 37.6. The average weekly working hours for men have declined slightly since 2011.