Italy Long Working Hours Rate (2025)

The Italy Long Working Hours Rate measures the share of employed persons aged 15 and over who usually work 49 or more hours per week in their main job, published annually by Eurostat from the EU Labour Force Survey (dataset LFSA_QOE_4A6R2). At 0.5% in 2025 — down from 1.1% in 2018 — Italy records the lowest long-hours rate among major EU economies, a result that appears paradoxical given Italy's cultural reputation for extended working days but reflects genuine structural features of the Italian labour market and the measurement methodology.

The most important caveat for interpreting Italy's 0.5% is the LFS measurement scope: it captures usual hours in the respondent's main job only, and measures employed persons as defined by ILO (one or more hours of paid work in the reference week). Italy's labour market has two characteristics that may suppress the measured long-hours rate relative to actual labour input. First, Italy has a very large informal or shadow economy — estimates from the Bank of Italy and ISTAT place this at 10–15% of GDP — and workers engaged in informal economic activity may not accurately report total hours worked across all activities in LFS interviews. Second, Italy's high part-time working rate (disproportionately among women) pulls down average reported hours and reduces the share exceeding the 49-hour threshold relative to countries with more full-time-dominated workforces.

For ESG analysts conducting CSRD social indicator assessments of Italian companies, the 0.5% headline should be supplemented by sector-level data. EWCS (European Working Conditions Survey) data suggest that actual long working hours are more prevalent in Italian agriculture, retail, hospitality, and professional services than the LFS aggregate implies. CSRD's mandatory social reporting requirements will increasingly require companies to disclose actual working time distributions by employee category — providing a more granular picture than the national LFS headline.

Coverage and methodology: Eurostat compiles the long working hours rate annually from EU LFS microdata. Italy's ISTAT provides the underlying survey data. The series begins in 2018, limiting long-run trend analysis. The self-reported nature of the LFS hours question and the exclusion of informal working time are the primary sources of potential measurement error for Italy specifically. Cross-country comparisons are directionally valid but should be interpreted with awareness of Italy's distinctive informal economy.