Portugal: crisis brings working time up to 41 hours a week

In Portugal, the number of people working in average 41 hours a week has increased since the end of 2011. According to an employment survey carried out by the National Statistics Institute (INE), about 25 percent of workers are concerned - when the statutory workweek is 40 hours. At the same time, pay and the number of employees are decreasing: officially, unemployment amounted to 15 percent of the population at the end of the first 2012 quarter. (Ref. 120482)
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Working time increase. One in four Portuguese employees works 41 hours a week, when the statutory workweek is 40 hours. Since the end of 2011, the increase in the number of people working more is 5.9 percent – 8.1 percent when taking the beginning of 2011 as a reference. In its employment survey, the INE draws a parallel between the working time increase and the drop in salaried work. The drop in salaried work, which is now up to 5 percent, began in 2008 with the economic crisis and started

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