"In most euro area countries, average hours worked (AHW) per employee have been falling since 2020 and remain below their pre-pandemic levels. The decline was particularly strong in 2020 owing to policy measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19.[1] National accounts data show that, in the fourth quarter of 2024, AHW were still 1.8% lower than a decade before (Chart A) despite the proportion of part-time workers remaining broadly stable over the same period. This decline has been accompanied by rising employment. Over the past decade, employment across the euro area has grown by 13.1% – approximately 19.9 million people. Therefore, total hours worked increased despite the decrease in AHW per employee. In this box, we use data from the European Union Labour Force Survey (LFS) to assess the extent to which the fall in AHW was driven by workers working zero hours (e.g. because of holiday or sick leave) or long hours (e.g. because of overtime) during the reference week.[2]..."

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