Employees in Germany worked less overtime in 2023 than in the previous year. However, more than half of them are unpaid. According to a media report, this is shown by data from the Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research.
According to a media report, employees in Germany worked 1.3 billion hours of overtime last year. Of these, more than half, 775 million hours, were unpaid, as the Rheinische Post reported, citing the Federal Ministry of Labor’s answer to a written question from Left-wing MP Susanne Ferschl. According to the report, the ministry relies on data from the Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research (IAB) of the Federal Employment Agency from February 2024.
An average of 31.6 hours of overtime were worked per employee in 2023. Compared to 2022, the number of overtime hours worked fell by around 100 million.
A working time calculation from the IAB from April also confirms that there was less paid overtime last year. Accordingly, the number of paid overtime hours in 2023 was lower than it has been since 2016.
Working hours at their peak
More work was done in Germany in 2023 than it has been for a long time. Like one published in April Study by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) shows, dependent employees worked a total of around 55 billion hours last year. This is the highest value since reunification.
Especially women in involuntary part-time work
“The overall volume of work has increased primarily because more and more women are working,” said study author Mattis Beckmannshagen. “However, almost half of women in Germany work part-time, although some would like to work more.” Their potential for the labor market therefore remains partially unused. The high part-time rate leads to a relatively low average working time of 34.7 hours per week for all employees.
According to the DIW study, the proportion of women who want to increase their working hours is higher than that of men. Annika Sperling, author of the study, sees particular potential in women’s employment. “In order to meet the need for skilled workers, women’s labor market potential should be better utilized and false incentives eliminated.”