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Bulgaria is among the countries with the longest working week in the EU, according to Eurostat data

by AI | 01.Jun 2024 | Europe in brief AI

Unemployment in the EU remains unchanged in April, while in the eurozone and Bulgaria it slightly decreases

photo: Hristo Kasabov/BTA

BRUSSELS – Last year, the actual weekly working hours for people aged 20-64 in their main job in the EU averaged 36.1 hours, reported the European statistics agency Eurostat.

Significant differences are noted between the duration of the working week in the member states for 2023. The longest working week is in Greece – 39.8 hours. Next in length are Romania with 39.5 hours, Poland – 39.3 hours and Bulgaria with 39 hours.

At the other end of the scale the Netherlands has the shortest working week – 32.2 hours, followed by Austria with 33.6 and Germany with 34 hours.

The economic activities registering the longest working week in the EU in 2023 are agriculture, forestry and fishing (41.5 actual working hours), mining and quarrying – 39.1 hours and construction – 38.9 hours. The shortest working weeks are recorded in household activities as employers (26.7 hours), education (31.9) and arts, entertainment and recreation (33).

The latest data from the European statistics agency shows that unemployment in the EU remained at six percent in April – unchanged from the previous month and from a year earlier. At the same time, in the euro area, the unemployment rate slightly decreased – from 6.5 percent in March to 6.4 percent in April.

In Bulgaria, the number of unemployed people, represented as a share of the labor force, dropped to 4.5 percent in April, according to Eurostat data. This means that 141 thou.Bulgarians were unemployed in April – two thousand less than the previous month.

In the first three months of 2024, the unemployment rate in Bulgaria was at 4.6 percent. In April 2023,unemployment in the country was 4.3 percent.

Youth unemployment in Bulgaria weakened from 14.9 percent in March to 14.4 percent in April. For comparison, in April this year, the youth unemployment rate was 14.4 percent in the EU, a drop from 14.7 percent the previous month and 14.1 percent in the euro area from 14.3 percent in March. (30 May)