Romanians continue to rank among the Europeans with the longest working weeks, new data published by Eurostat on May 27 demonstrates, highlighting the persistent gap between working time and income levels across the European Union and Romania’s continued lag.
On average, employees in Romania worked 38.2 hours per week in 2025, which is significantly above the EU average of 35.9 hours. The figures place Romania among the bloc’s hardest-working countries, behind only Greece, Bulgaria, Poland and Lithuania.
Greece recorded the longest average working week in the European Union at 39.6 hours, followed by Bulgaria and Poland with 38.7 hours, Lithuania with 38.4 hours and Romania with 38.2 hours.
Interestingly, data also show that working hours across the EU have gradually declined over the past decade. In 2015, the average working week at European level stood at 36.9 hours, compared to 35.9 hours today, reflecting broader trends toward more flexible schedules, part-time work and improved work-life balance in several Western and Northern European economies.
At the opposite end of the ranking, the Netherlands registered the shortest average working week in the EU, at just 31.9 hours. Denmark and Germany followed with 33.9 hours, while Austria recorded an average of 34 hours per week.
The contrast between Eastern and Western Europe remains striking, as countries in Central and Eastern Europe continue to post some of the bloc’s longest working schedules despite generally lower wages and weaker purchasing power than wealthier Western economies.
In Romania, the figures are particularly notable given that salaries remain well below the European average. According to the latest national statistics, the average net monthly salary in Romania fluctuates around 5,200–5,500 lei (roughly €1,040–€1,100), though earnings vary sharply depending on sector and region. Workers in industries such as retail, manufacturing, hospitality and agriculture often earn considerably less, with many salaries still hovering near the minimum wage threshold.
Romania’s net minimum wage currently stands at around 2,500–2,600 lei per month (approximately €500–€520), among the lower levels in the European Union. By comparison, employees in countries with shorter working weeks, such as Germany, the Netherlands or Denmark, typically earn several times more despite working fewer hours on average.
The Eurostat data also reveal significant gender differences across Europe. At EU level, men worked an average of 39.4 hours per week in 2025, compared to 37.6 hours for women.
Among women, the longest working weeks were recorded in Slovenia, where women worked an average of 39.2 hours weekly, followed closely by Lithuania with 39.1 hours and Latvia and Poland with 38.9 hours. The shortest working weeks for women were registered in the Netherlands at 35 hours, Finland at 35.6 hours, Ireland at 35.9 hours and Belgium at 36.4 hours.
For men, only four EU countries exceeded the threshold of 40 working hours per week. Greece topped the ranking with 41.8 hours, followed by Poland with 40.6 hours, Slovenia with 40.2 hours and Cyprus with exactly 40 hours.
The shortest working schedules for men were recorded in Finland and the Netherlands, both at 38.4 hours, followed by Hungary and Sweden at 38.5 hours.
Eurostat’s figures also highlight notable disparities between male and female working hours depending on the country. The largest gender gaps were recorded in Ireland, where men worked four more hours per week than women on average, followed by the Netherlands with a 3.4-hour difference and Greece with a 3-hour gap.
By contrast, differences between men and women were minimal in countries such as Latvia and Bulgaria, where the gap amounted to less than half an hour per week.
The data come amid growing dissatisfaction among Romanian employees regarding salaries and working conditions, as a survey published earlier this month found that more than half of Romanian workers are unhappy with their current pay and are considering changing jobs (if not countries) in search of better financial opportunities or improved work-life balance.
Economists have long argued that Romania’s labor market reflects a broader structural imbalance common to several Eastern European economies: longer working hours do not necessarily translate into higher productivity or higher living standards. Instead, many workers simply remain trapped between rising living costs and relatively modest wages.
Although Romania’s economy has grown significantly over the past two decades and wages have risen steadily compared to the early 2000s, many employees still feel that income growth has failed to keep pace with housing costs, utilities, food prices and inflation.
