Long usual weekly working hours β€” Employment in Australia

Australia: Long usual weekly working hours β€” Employment was 1,506 Persons in 2025. β–Ό Falling

Latest (2025)
1,506 Persons
Change on year
down 2.6%
World rank
14th
of 40 countries
All-time high
1,803 Persons
in 2008
All-time low
1,506 Persons
in 2025
Years of data
25
2001–2025

Long usual weekly working hours β€” Employment in Australia, 2001–2025

05001.0k1.5k2.0k2001201320252001: 1.7k Persons2002: 1.7k Persons2003: 1.7k Persons2004: 1.7k Persons2005: 1.7k Persons2006: 1.7k Persons2007: 1.8k Persons2008: 1.8k Persons2009: 1.7k Persons2010: 1.7k Persons2011: 1.8k Persons2012: 1.8k Persons2013: 1.8k Persons2014: 1.7k Persons2015: 1.7k Persons2016: 1.7k Persons2017: 1.7k Persons2018: 1.7k Persons2019: 1.7k Persons2020: 1.5k Persons2021: 1.6k Persons2022: 1.6k Persons2023: 1.6k Persons2024: 1.5k Persons2025: 1.5k Persons

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Persons.

Analysis

Australia recorded 1,506 Persons for long usual weekly working hours β€” employment in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.6% on the previous year and down 13.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, long usual weekly working hours β€” employment in Australia peaked at 1,803 Persons in 2008 and was at its lowest, 1,506 Persons, in 2025.

That places Australia 14th out of 40 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 1,712 Persons 1,658 Persons 1,803 Persons 9
2010s 1,721 Persons 1,665 Persons 1,761 Persons 10
2020s 1,563 Persons 1,506 Persons 1,622 Persons 6

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 11 Argentina 2,257 Persons compare
  2. 12 Germany 2,055 Persons compare
  3. 13 Italy 1,675 Persons compare
  4. 15 Spain 1,324 Persons compare
  5. 16 Canada 1,187 Persons compare
  6. 17 Chile 769.45 Persons compare

See the full ranking of 56 places β†’

More work & labour data for Australia

All data for Australia β†’

Frequently asked questions

What is long usual weekly working hours β€” employment in Australia?
Long usual weekly working hours β€” employment in Australia was 1,506 Persons in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest long usual weekly working hours β€” employment recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 1,803 Persons in 2008.
What is the lowest long usual weekly working hours β€” employment recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 1,506 Persons in 2025.
How does Australia rank for long usual weekly working hours β€” employment?
Australia ranks 14th out of 40 countries with data for 2025.
Is long usual weekly working hours β€” employment rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is down 13.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Long usual weekly working hours β€” Employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Long usual weekly working hours β€” Employment in Australia. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/long-usual-weekly-working-hours-employment/australia/

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About this data

Indicator
Long usual weekly working hours β€” Employment
Unit
Persons
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
56 places, 1,768 data points, 1976–2025
Last refreshed

This dataset contains data on employment by long hour bands (50 and over, 60 and over) for usual weekly hours worked in the main job. Actual hours of work instead of usual hours of work are only available in some countries (Japan and Korea). Data are broken down by professional status - employees, total employment - by sex and age groups. Detailed notes and sources can be found in LFS_NOTES_SOURCES. 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.