Cyprus has recorded the highest share of long-term care workers in the European Union working excessive hours, while also ranking first for involuntary temporary employment in the sector, according to the European Commission’s European Employment and Social Outlook 2026 report.
The report found that 27.9% of care workers in Cyprus work at least 49 hours per week, the highest proportion among EU member states.
Across the EU, the prevalence of long working hours among care workers has increased by 3.5 percentage points over the past decade. By comparison, the share of workers putting in long hours in the Netherlands stands at just 1.5%.
Low pay and insecure employment remain concerns
The European Commission notes that care workers in many member states face long working hours, relatively low wages and informal or undeclared employment.
Across the EU, 11% of workers in the sector are classified as low-paid, compared with an overall EU average of 14.7%. The proportion has fallen by 3.5 percentage points since 2014.
However, significant differences exist between countries, with low pay particularly widespread in:
- Latvia: 46.2%
- Estonia: 40.7%
- Malta: 37.0%
- Spain: 32.2%
- Greece: 29.8%
The report warns that official figures may underestimate the pressures facing the sector because informal and undeclared care work remains widespread, particularly in personal and domestic care services.
An estimated 44 million people provide regular informal care across the EU, with women and migrant workers playing an important, although not fully documented, role.
Cyprus records highest rate of involuntary temporary employment
The report also highlights the prevalence of involuntary temporary employment, referring to workers on fixed-term contracts because they have been unable to secure permanent positions.
Across the EU, 7.8% of care workers are employed on temporary contracts involuntarily, compared with 6.4% of the workforce as a whole.
In Cyprus, the proportion reaches 75.5%, the highest among the member states examined in the report. Germany records the lowest figure among the countries highlighted, at 1.7%.
Meanwhile, non-standard working-time arrangements affect almost half of all personal care workers in the EU, representing 48.3% or approximately 2.26 million people.
The highest proportions are recorded in:
- Italy: 64.7%
- Sweden: 59.5%
- Spain: 59.2%
- Finland: 58.3%
- Czechia: 56.7%
The report links these patterns largely to shift work, which affects around one-third of personal care workers.
Millions of care vacancies expected by 2035
The European Commission estimates that the EU had approximately 9.91 million care workers in 2024, an increase of 16% compared with 2014.
However, the sector is expected to face growing pressure as the population ages. The number of people aged 65 and over is projected to increase by 23% by 2035, while employment in long-term care is expected to grow by only 7%.
This gap is expected to create around 4.3 million job vacancies between 2022 and 2035. Of these, 3.9 million will result from workers leaving their positions and needing to be replaced, while a further 373,000 will be newly created jobs.
The report says staff shortages are already persistent, with pressure to fill vacancies intensifying during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It also highlights the sector’s predominantly female workforce and warns that inadequate access to long-term care services continues to restrict wider participation in the labour market.
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