Albanians Work Longer Hours Than the European Average

When you examine working-time statistics across Europe, one figure stands out: Albanian workers are spending more hours on the job each week than many of their continental peers.

According to recent data, workers in Albania averaged about 41.3 hours per week in 2024, compared with around 36.0 hours per week for workers aged 20-64 in the European Union.

What lies behind this gap, and what does it mean for workers, businesses, and the broader economy? Below, we break down the data, uncover the driving forces, explore the implications, and consider what might be done.

Where Things Stand in 2025

• In 2024, employees in Albania logged an average of 41.3 hours/week, slightly down from 41.6 in 2023.
• Sector-by-sector in Albania for 2024: trade/transport/hospitality/business services ~46.8 hours/week; manufacturing ~46.4 hours/week; construction ~45.1 hours/week; extractive/energy ~43.2 hours/week; agriculture ~35.5 hours/week.
• For the EU, the average weekly working time in 2024 was 36.0 hours/week (for workers aged 20-64, main job, full-time or part-time).

Why Are Albanians Working More?

Let’s analyse some of the factors that are making Albanians work more.

Labour-market structure and economic context

Albania remains a lower-cost economy in Europe with many jobs in manufacturing, construction, transport, or hospitality. In sectors where output depends on shift hours, seasonal demands, and turnaround times, workers often log extended hours.

Overtime, informal work and regulation gaps

Long working hours may be driven by overtime requirements or informal arrangements (which sometimes go unreported). Regulation, enforcement, and labour-market flexibility differ from Western European norms, making longer hours more common in practice.

Part-time jobs are less prevalent and have fewer work-hour choices

In many Western EU countries, you’ll find a higher share of part-time employment, flexible working, job-sharing, etc., which pulls down average hours. In Albania, full-time work remains more standard, and flexible forms are less common; hence, average hours stay elevated.

Wages, productivity, and incentives

When wages are low relative to the cost of living or to expectations, workers may feel compelled to accept longer hours to make ends meet. At the same time, businesses may lean on longer working hours instead of raising productivity or investing in automation. This can become a “more hours” rather than “more value” scenario.

Cultural-economic inertia

The norms around work, expectations of availability, company practices, and sectoral traditions (especially in construction, manufacturing) can also contribute. If the pattern of long hours is entrenched, it becomes part of how the market functions.

The Stakes Are High

The fact that Albanian workers are working longer hours than many peers has several important implications:

Hourly pay & productivity

Working more hours doesn’t guarantee higher pay or better output per hour. If wages stay modest but hours increase, the return per hour may be low, which can undermine living standards and worker morale.

Health, work-life balance, and wellbeing

Longer working hours mean less time for rest, family, leisure, or other engagements (up-skilling, volunteering). Over time, this imbalance can affect mental and physical health, job satisfaction, and retention.

Attracting talent and retaining skills

For younger workers or skilled professionals, long hours + modest pay + limited flexibility can push them to look abroad or in sectors with better conditions. That weakens the ability of the local economy to grow into higher-value activities.

Economic competitiveness and evolution

In modern economies, many argue that the focus should shift from “hours worked” to “value created per hour”. If hours are long because productivity is low, the economy may struggle to upgrade. For Albania to move up the value chain, it needs not just more hours, but smarter hours.

What Can Be Done

Here are some areas where change could help align working hours with better outcomes:

• Strengthen labour protections, overtime regulation, and enforcement: to ensure long hours don’t stem from unfair practices.
• Promote productivity growth: investment in technology, training, process improvement, so that output per hour rises, less pressure to just extend hours.
• Encourage flexible working and part-time arrangements: to allow workers more choice, improve job satisfaction, and attract different talent profiles.
• Raise minimum wages and cost-of-living support: If hours are long because wages are low, adjusting wage floors and supporting cost-of-living matters.
• Better data collection and transparency: more granular data by contract type (full-/part-time), by informal vs formal work, by sector, will allow more targeted policies.
• Shift culture toward value over hours: recognise that working smarter (not just longer) can benefit businesses, workers, and society.

Conclusion

In 2025, Albania’s labour market stands out in Europe for its longer working hours: around 41+ hours/week on average, and certain sectors approaching 46+ hours. These numbers tell a story of a developing economy working hard—literally—but they also highlight structural challenges around productivity, pay, job quality, and worker wellbeing.

The goal for the coming years isn’t simply to reduce hours for the sake of it but to re-orient the dynamic: fewer excessive hours and higher value output, better wages, better balance. If Albania can make that shift, it can turn the “long-hours” statistic from a sign of burden into a stepping-stone for growth.

Sources

1. Eurostat — “People in the EU worked on average 36 hours per week” (2024) European Commission
2. AlbanianDailyNews — “Lowest Paid, Longest Working Hours in Europe” (2023 data) Albanian Daily News
3. Euronews.al — “In Albania, People Work an Average of 41 Hours per Week, Compared to 36 Hours in the EU” (2024) Euronews Albania
4. ScanTV / Insajderi — Albania 2024 weekly hours detailed by sector (~41.3 hours)