Category / Labor market

People in Germany would prefer to work less, even if it meant earning less. On average, men would prefer to work just 36 hours per week, as compared to 39 hours in 2007. Women would also like to work less: Recent data show that they would prefer to work 29.5 hours per week.

A comparison of men’s and women’s preferred working hours shows a convergence in preferences over time. In 2000, women wanted to work nine hours less than men, and now just six and a half hours less.

In the early aughts, people’s preferred number of working hours was still rising. This changed after Germany overcame a phase of major unemployment. These findings from the study “Living in Germany” were published in an article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

Further information

Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung: Deutsche wollen immer weniger arbeiten

All results in the overview…

The corona crisis has had significant impacts on workers in mini-jobs. In June 2020, for instance, regular employment fell by just 0.2 percent, while mini-jobs fell by 12 percent. Women were hit particularly hard by these job losses. An article published by Spiegel online presented research findings based on data from “Living in Germany.” “A reform of the mini-job sector is long overdue,” says study author Markus Grabka, one of the researchers on the SOEP team at DIW Berlin.

Further information

Der Spiegel: Minijobberinnen in der Pandemie, Von 450 Euro auf null

DIW Berlin: Beschäftige in Minijobs sind VerliererInnen der coronabedingten Rezession

All results in the overview…