Data Characteristics
Data Characteristics Unit of measure used Unit of measure used Population & Scope Population & Scope Statistical population Statistical populationThe concept used is the total number of hours worked over the year divided by the average number of people in employment. The data are intended for comparisons of trends over time; they are unsuitable for comparisons of the level of average annual hours of work for a given year, because of differences in their sources. Part-time workers are covered as well as full-time workers.
Geographic coverage Geographic coverage In order to facilitate analysis and comparisons over time, historical data for OECD members have been provided over as long a period as possible, often even before a country became a member of the Organisation. Information on the membership dates of all OECD countries can be found at OECD Ratification Dates
Concepts & Classifications Concepts & Classifications Key statistical concept Key statistical conceptThe series on annual hours actually worked per person in total employment presented in this table for 38 OECD countries are consistent with the series retained for the calculation of productivity measures in the OECD Productivity database (https://doi.org/10.1787/22252126). However, there may be some differences for some countries given that the main purpose of the latter database is to report data series on labour input (i.e. total hours worked) and also because the updating of databases occur at different moments of the year.
Hours actually worked per person in employment are according to National Accounts concepts for 25 countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey. Secretariat estimates for Lithuania for annual hours worked are based on the European Labour Force Survey as are estimates for dependent employees for Austria, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Portugal and the Slovak Republic. For the remaining countries, the sources and methodologies are the same as those presented in the previous edition of the OECD Employment Outlook, as are estimates reported for dependent employment for 29 OECD countries. The table also includes labour force survey based estimates for Costa Rica and the Russian Federation.
The following change has been implemented in January 2019: For Austria, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom, average actual hours worked data calculated in country's national accounts are replaced with estimates produced at the OECD using the OECD simplified component method, which relies on the EU-LFS and complementary sources. This reflects conclusions from the OECD Statistics Working Paper International Productivity Gaps: Are Labour Input Measures Comparable? (https://doi.org/10.1787/5b43c728-en) which shows that the use of a direct method for the estimation of average hours worked creates systematic upwards bias, weighing down on productivity levels - please refer to the paper itself for a more detailed account. It is important to stress that the use of the simplified component method by the OECD for this group of countries is intended to be only a stop-gap until such a time that these countries will be able to align their estimates with the national accounts framework and correct for self-reporting bias, with many countries already moving in this direction.
While the paper clearly highlights the current bias in international comparisons of productivity levels, it does not follow that the same holds for international comparisons of productivity growth rates. The time series takes average hours actually worked levels using the simplified component method in 2016 as a benchmark, and projects this series forwards and backwards using official (national) productivity growth rates . In this way, by definition, labour productivity growth rates are not affected and, as such, there is no difference between national and OECD growth rate series.
For further details and country specific notes see: www.oecd.org/employment/outlook and www.oecd.org/employment/emp/ANNUAL-HOURS-WORKED.pdf. For details on the international comparability of annual hours, see www.oecd.org/employment/emp/International-comparability-of-OECD-measures-of-annual-hours-worked.pdf
Estimation Estimation Data are estimates for:
Total employment
Australia (2017-2022) , Latvia and Portgual (2022)
Dependent employment
Australia (2021-2022), Colombia, Israel, Latvia and Portugal (2022), Switzerland (2020-2022)
The concept used is the total number of hours worked over the year divided by the average number of people in employment. The data are intended for comparisons of trends over time; they are unsuitable for comparisons of the level of average annual hours of work for a given year, because of differences in their sources. Part-time workers are covered as well as full-time workers.
In order to facilitate analysis and comparisons over time, historical data for OECD members have been provided over as long a period as possible, often even before a country became a member of the Organisation. Information on the membership dates of all OECD countries can be found at OECD Ratification Dates
The series on annual hours actually worked per person in total employment presented in this table for 38 OECD countries are consistent with the series retained for the calculation of productivity measures in the OECD Productivity database (https://doi.org/10.1787/22252126). However, there may be some differences for some countries given that the main purpose of the latter database is to report data series on labour input (i.e. total hours worked) and also because the updating of databases occur at different moments of the year.
Hours actually worked per person in employment are according to National Accounts concepts for 25 countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey. Secretariat estimates for Lithuania for annual hours worked are based on the European Labour Force Survey as are estimates for dependent employees for Austria, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Portugal and the Slovak Republic. For the remaining countries, the sources and methodologies are the same as those presented in the previous edition of the OECD Employment Outlook, as are estimates reported for dependent employment for 29 OECD countries. The table also includes labour force survey based estimates for Costa Rica and the Russian Federation.
The following change has been implemented in January 2019: For Austria, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom, average actual hours worked data calculated in country's national accounts are replaced with estimates produced at the OECD using the OECD simplified component method, which relies on the EU-LFS and complementary sources. This reflects conclusions from the OECD Statistics Working Paper International Productivity Gaps: Are Labour Input Measures Comparable? (https://doi.org/10.1787/5b43c728-en) which shows that the use of a direct method for the estimation of average hours worked creates systematic upwards bias, weighing down on productivity levels - please refer to the paper itself for a more detailed account. It is important to stress that the use of the simplified component method by the OECD for this group of countries is intended to be only a stop-gap until such a time that these countries will be able to align their estimates with the national accounts framework and correct for self-reporting bias, with many countries already moving in this direction.
While the paper clearly highlights the current bias in international comparisons of productivity levels, it does not follow that the same holds for international comparisons of productivity growth rates. The time series takes average hours actually worked levels using the simplified component method in 2016 as a benchmark, and projects this series forwards and backwards using official (national) productivity growth rates . In this way, by definition, labour productivity growth rates are not affected and, as such, there is no difference between national and OECD growth rate series.
For further details and country specific notes see: www.oecd.org/employment/outlook and www.oecd.org/employment/emp/ANNUAL-HOURS-WORKED.pdf. For details on the international comparability of annual hours, see www.oecd.org/employment/emp/International-comparability-of-OECD-measures-of-annual-hours-worked.pdf
Data are estimates for:
Total employment
Australia (2017-2022) , Latvia and Portgual (2022)
Dependent employment
Australia (2021-2022), Colombia, Israel, Latvia and Portugal (2022), Switzerland (2020-2022)