– In 2023, 7 percent of employees aged 20-64 wanted to work more hours, while 11 percent wanted fewer working hours. Half of those that wanted and had the capacity to work more were part-time employees while most of those that wanted fewer working hours were full-time employees, says Charlotta Olofsson, Statistician at the Labour Force Surveys at Statistics Sweden.

How much do employees in Sweden work?

In 2023, the average number of actual hours worked among employees in Sweden was lower than the EU average, but higher than in several comparable countries, including most of the other Nordic countries. On the other hand, the employment rate in Sweden was higher than the EU average. The relatively high employment rate means that Sweden had a higher number of average hours worked per capita compared to other countries.

Between 2005-2023 average number of actual hours worked by employed people has remained relatively unchanged, while there was a slight increase in hours worked among employees. During the same period employment rate has increased from 77.7 to 82.6 percent. The increase in working hours among employees is especially noticeable among women. This is primarily a result of more women working full time compared to earlier.

In 2023 the average number of hours worked by agreement for full-time employees was 39.7 hours per week, regardless of gender. Among part-time employees, women had a higher amount of agreed working hours, averaging 26.5 hours, compared to 24.9 hours for men. However, the share of full-time employees was lower among women compared to men, 74.1 percent among women compared to 89.5 percent among men.

Hours worked by industry and skill requirement shows that employees in professions with lower skill requirements had fewer hours worked, by agreement, compared to professions with higher skill requirements. Number of working hours were especially low among employees working in low-skilled occupations and with jobs in service industries such as education, health and social care, retail and hotel and restaurant services. One explanation is the relatively high percentage share of part-time employees in these industries.

How much do employees in Sweden wish to work?

Among employees aged 20–64, 818,800 people, or 18.3 percent, wanted to change their working hours with a corresponding change in salary. Of these, 307,600 people, or 6.9 percent, wished to increase their number of hours worked while 511,200 people, or 11.4 percent, wanted to work less hours. Among those that wanted to work more hours, 88.3 percent reported that they also would be able to work more – these people are referred to as underemployed and are part of the unused labour supply.

Just over half of the employees who wanted to, and was able to, work more hours, aged 20-64, were working part time. The average usual working time for this group was 25.0 hours a week, with an average desired working time of 36.9 hours a week. The employees that wanted to, and was able to, work more hours, but instead had a permanent employment, preferred on average to increase hours usual worked from 40.4 to a desired working time of 48.3 hours a week. The prevalence of underemployed was particularly high among employees in low-skilled occupations and with jobs in service industries, where part-time employment is common - for example in education, health and social care, retail and hotels and restaurants. There were no considerable differences between the number of underemployed men and women. There was, however, to a greater extent full-time working men and part-time working women among those who wanted to increase their working hours.

Most of the employees, aged 20–64, who wanted to reduce their working hours in 2023, were full-time employees. Those who wished to decrease their working hours had an average usual working hour of 42.8 hours a week, with an average desired working time of 33.2 hours a week. There were no considerable differences between men and women. Many of these employees worked in highly skilled occupations, within in service industries, such as public administration, education, health and social care, and also in private service industries, such as information and communication, as well as financial operations and business services.

In total, the hours which employees aged 20–64 who wanted to and was able to increase their working hours amounted to was 2,517,400 hours per week in 2023. This corresponds to 62,900 jobs with a 40-hour work week. The corresponding number of hours that employees wanted to reduce their working hours amounted to 4,773,200 hours per week, or 119,200 jobs with a 40-hour work week.

Facts: About the statistics

The report is based on annual data from the Labour Force Surveys (LFS). The Labour Force Surveys is a sample survey that describes the development of the labour market for Sweden's population, aged 15–74 years. This report is limited to employees aged 20–64.

One in five employees want to change hours worked (pdf)