Portugal is the fifth-highest in the European Union for weekly workload, averaging 39.7 hours per week. It is surpassed only by Greece, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria, according to an analysis by Pordata.
While the average across the 27 EU countries was 37 working hours per week in 2025, Portugal recorded an average of 39.7 hours. This is "one of the highest in the European Union," summarises Pordata in a statistical portrait published on the occasion of Labour Day.
Portugal is surpassed only by Greece (an average of 41 hours of work per week ), Poland (40 hours), Romania (40 hours) and Bulgaria (39.9 hours), according to statistics from Pordata.
The data compiled by Pordata, part of the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation, is based on 2025 Eurostat statistics and refers to the employed population aged between 15 and 64
Pordata says that "countries with a higher prevalence of part-time work, such as the Netherlands, Denmark, or Germany, record significantly lower average working hours."
Among the five countries with the lowest figures, the average is less than 36 hours. In the Netherlands, it is 31.5 hours per week, in Denmark 33.6 hours, in Germany 34.8 hours, in Ireland 35.7 hours, and in Finland 35.8 hours.
Of the approximately 208 million workers in the European Union, 111 million are men and 97 million are women. More than five million are in the Portuguese labour market.
Portugal is one of the countries "with the most temporary contracts among young people and with salary levels below the European average, but also with one of the highest employment rates " among young people aged 25 to 29, according to Pordata.
The study also shows that the average adjusted full-time salary in Portugal in 2024 was €2,068, compared to an average of €3,317 across the 27 EU countries.
The national minimum wage was €870 in 2025 and increased to €920 in 2026. In 2025, this was equivalent to €1,015 per month when calculated over 14 payments per year, including the standard 12 monthly salaries plus holiday and Christmas bonuses.
In the EU, almost 13% of employees (around 23 million) have temporary contracts, while in Portugal, the percentage is 15.1%. This places it in the group of five countries with the highest figures, along with the Netherlands, Poland, France and Spain.
“Among young people, job insecurity is particularly high,” says Pordata, indicating that in the EU “, temporary work is a reality for one in three of the approximately 36 million young workers ”. Portugal “is the fourth country with the most precarious work among young people.”
"Almost four out of ten workers under 30 have temporary contracts. Above Portugal are Poland (39.1%), France (39.2%) and the Netherlands (51.1%)," it reads.
“In the EU, 19.2% of foreign workers had temporary jobs in 2025, compared to 12% among nationals of each country. Portugal is among the countries with the greatest difference in the percentage of temporary work by nationality, with almost 34% foreigners and almost 14% national workers,” adds Pordata.
Statistics indicate that in the EU, where 18.8% of workers are employed part-time, "there is great variability between countries" in this indicator, with Portugal showing "one of the lowest proportions (8.1%), in contrast to countries like the Netherlands, with 43.8%".
“In the EU, part-time work is particularly prevalent among women (29.1% compared to 9.8% among men) – although in Portugal this gender difference is less pronounced (10.4% vs 5.9%) – and among workers under 25 years of age (34.7%),” they also say.
Portugal "presents a value aligned with the European standard" in the proportion of self-employed workers. The European average is 13.7%, and in Portugal it is 14.7%.
