The coming year will be a little less busy – at least in terms of the number of working days. According to data from the Federal Statistical Office, employees will work a nationwide average of 248.8 days in 2024, 0.6 days fewer than in the year that is ending.
The number of working days varies from year to year depending on how many holidays fall on weekends. According to the authority, the standard year has 249.7 working days.
Impact on the economy
“Changes in the number of working days already create an economic trend because more or less working hours initially means more or less production of goods and services,” explains Timo Wollmershäuser, chief economic researcher at the Munich Ifo Institute. As a rule of thumb, one could say: If the number of working days increases by 1 percent compared to the previous year (around 2.5 days), the growth in gross domestic product would be almost a quarter of a percentage point higher due to this calendar effect. Since other factors also play a role, the effect may differ from the rule of thumb.
According to Wollmershäuser, the consequences for the economy in the coming year are negligible. The difference of minus 0.6 days compared to the previous year means a minus of 0.03 percentage points in gross domestic product.
The year 2025 will have even fewer working days
The year 2025 will be even more pleasing for the part of the population that likes to have time off, with 248.1 working days. The following year, however, there are 250.5 days.
The decimal numbers in the working days result from the fact that some federal states have more public holidays than others. Augsburg is at the top nationwide with 14 public holidays; the Peace Festival is celebrated there every year on August 8th and is only celebrated in the city on the Lech. The other Catholic parts of Bavaria follow with 13 days. In most East German federal states or in North Rhine-Westphalia there are 11 days. Northern German federal states such as Schleswig-Holstein or Lower Saxony only have 10 public holidays. There are 9 public holidays nationwide.
