Overtime work decreased as per Microsensus data
In a trend that has been ongoing since before 2019, Germany has seen a consistent decrease in average annual working hours per worker. This decline, partly driven by workers' preferences for less overtime and increased part-time employment, has not been accompanied by a significant rise in part-time jobs in the immediate post-COVID period, according to OECD data.
One sector where overtime work has significantly increased is the police. Federal border control police in Germany logged over 720,000 overtime hours by mid-2025, with total additional federal police work exceeding 2.8 million hours. This indicates extremely high levels of overtime within this sector.
However, comprehensive or official German-wide quantitative data on unpaid overtime or a breakdown by all industries for 2023-2024 was not found in the current search results. Nonetheless, OECD data suggest a general preference among European workers for flexible time arrangements, likely including the use of work-time accounts, contributing to overall fewer hours on average.
In 2024, 13% of men and 10% of women in Germany regularly worked overtime. The usage of work-time accounts to balance overtime hours as free time was more common than direct compensation or unpaid overtime. Overtime hours in Germany are often credited to work-time accounts, with 71% of those working overtime reporting this method in 2024.
Overtime is least common in the hospitality industry, while it is most common in the financial and insurance services sector. The number of women regularly working overtime increased between 2023 and 2024, while the number of men remained relatively stable.
Approximately 4.4 million German employees regularly worked overtime in 2024, representing 11% of the approximately 39.1 million employees in Germany. One in seven (15%) workers in overtime worked more than 15 hours per week, while 45% of those working overtime resolved the issue with no more than five hours per week.
It's worth noting that the police sector stands out as an exception with documented very high overtime hours. While overall German workers tend to work fewer hours including overtime than many OECD peers, the exact recent usage rates of work-time accounts and other flexible arrangements are not detailed here.
Economic and social policy discussions in Germany may need to address the rising overtime hours in certain sectors, particularly finance and business, such as the financial and insurance services sector, where overtime is most common. In fact, the usage of work-time accounts to balance overtime hours as free time is more prevalent in these industries, according to 2024 data.
