A recent study by Randstad shows that Portugal is one of the countries in the European Union where many people work very long hours. In fact, only Greece, Cyprus, and France have a higher percentage of workers who usually work 49 hours or more each week.
Portugal is ranked fourth in the EU for the number of people who regularly work these long hours in their main job. According to the study, about 9.1% of employees in Portugal work 49 hours or more every week. This number is much higher than the EU average, which is 6.5%.
This also goes beyond the normal working hours in Portugal. In the public sector, the standard workweek is 35 hours, while in the private sector it is usually 40 hours. This means that many workers are doing much more work than what is considered normal.
Only three countries have higher numbers than Portugal. Greece is at the top, with 12.4% of workers putting in long hours. Cyprus follows with 10%, and France is close behind with 9.7%.
The study also compares Portugal with other large European economies. It shows that Portugal has more people working long hours than countries like Germany and Spain. In Germany, only 5% of workers have such long workweeks, while in Spain the number is 6.3%. This highlights how common long working hours are in Portugal compared to other countries.
Over the years, there has been some improvement for workers in Portugal. The number of people working very long hours has gone down since 2000. However, the country still has a strong culture of long working hours compared to the rest of Europe.
The report explains that this situation affects some groups more than others. Employers and self-employed workers are more likely to work long hours. In 2024, about 35% of employers worked at least 49 hours per week. Among self-employed workers, around 20% worked such long hours.
On the other hand, regular employees are less affected. In 2024, about 6.8% of employees worked 49 hours or more each week. Although this is lower than the other groups, it is still a significant number.
Another important point in the study is education. The Portuguese workforce has become more educated over time. The number of workers with higher education has increased a lot. In 1992, only 11.4% of working people had a university degree or similar qualification. By the end of 2024, this number had risen to 33.7%.
This shows a big improvement in education levels in Portugal. However, the country is still behind the EU average. By the end of 2025, about 36.2% of people in Portugal had completed higher education. Across the EU, the average is 39.2%.
Because of this, Portugal is ranked as the eighth worst country in the EU for higher education levels among workers.
There are big differences between countries. Ireland has the highest number of educated workers, with 57.3% having higher education. On the other hand, Romania has one of the lowest levels, with only 22.7%.
Even though Portugal has made progress, it still faces challenges. The study shows that Portugal has the highest percentage of low-skilled workers in the EU. About 29.1% of workers are considered low-skilled. This is double the EU average of 14.7%.
This means that while more people are getting higher education, a large part of the workforce still has low levels of skills. This can affect productivity and economic growth.
The report also looks at foreign workers in the EU. In the last quarter of 2025, about 10.5% of workers in the EU were foreign citizens. In Portugal, this number was lower, at 7.9%.
This is still much lower than countries like Luxembourg, where more than half of the workforce (54.4%) is made up of foreign workers. Spain also has a higher percentage, at 16.8%.
However, Portugal has seen strong growth in foreign workers over time. In 2000, only 1.4% of workers in Portugal were foreigners. By the end of 2024, this had increased to 6.6%.
The study highlights that most of this growth has happened in recent years. In fact, the last two years have seen a sharp rise in the number of foreign workers.
According to Randstad, this increase shows that Portugal is becoming more active in attracting talent from other countries. Immigration is now playing an important role in supporting the country’s labour market.
Overall, the report shows a mixed picture of Portugal’s workforce. On one hand, people are becoming more educated, and the country is attracting more foreign workers. On the other hand, long working hours remain common, and many workers still have low skill levels.
This means that while Portugal has made progress, there is still work to do to match the standards of other European countries.
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