Almost 10 per cent (9.7) of employees in Cyprus worked 49 or more hours per week in their primary job in 2022 a Eurostat report released on Tuesday showed, the third highest percentage among EU member states.

The EU average stood at 7 per cent.

Moreover, 30 per cent of self-employed people worked long hours, a percentage significantly higher compared to people employed by a company, as only 4 per cent of the latter worked long hours.

Long working hours were more common among people working in agriculture, forestry and fishing (28 per cent) and among managers (24 per cent) compared to other sectors.

Among EU member states, the highest percentage of people working long hours was recorded in Greece with 12.6 per cent, followed by France with 10.2 per cent.

The lowest rates were recorded in Bulgaria (0.7 per cent, Lithuania (0.8 per cent) and Latvia (1.3 per cent).