Weekly working hours in the industrial sector of four European countries

The four bar charts illustrate the distribution of weekly working hours within the industrial sector across France, Denmark, Sweden, and the UK in 2002. Overall, it is evident that the majority of industrial workers in all four countries worked between 36 and 40 hours per week. However, the UK displayed a distinct pattern with a higher proportion of employees working longer hours compared to the other three nations.

In France, Denmark, and Sweden, the 36-40 hour category was clearly dominant. Sweden recorded the highest peak, with 80% of its workforce in this bracket, followed by Denmark at 70% and France at 50%. Conversely, the UK had 50% of its workers in this same category. While the other three countries saw a sharp decline in the percentage of workers in categories exceeding 40 hours, the UK maintained a more consistent distribution. Specifically, 15% of UK workers were in the 41-45 hour range, 20% in 46-50, and 22% worked over 50 hours.

In contrast, France, Denmark, and Sweden showed relatively low participation in the longest working hour brackets, with figures generally remaining at or below 20% for hours exceeding 40 per week.