Number of working days & weeks per year - if you work full-time

Many employees today work full-time. However, the number of working days that a full-time employee works can vary. Here we explain how employees and employers calculate the number of working days per year, current public holidays and what exceptions may affect the number of working days.

Number of working days per year

A full-time job normally involves 40 hours of work per week. The number of working days for full-time employment is generally 5 days per week.

Since the calendar months have different numbers of days and some months also have public holidays, the number of working days per year for a full-time employee varies. An average number of working days per year is around 250 days.

Number of working days per year 2024/2025

In 2023, full-time employment involved 249 working days in the year. 2024 will be similar. The total number of working days for 2024 will be 251 working days for a full-time worker. This means that 2024 will be an average year in terms of working days per year.

Current public holidays in 2024

1. 1/1 New Year's Day
2. 6/1 Epiphany
3. 29/3 Good Friday
4. 31/3 Easter Day
5. 1/4 Easter Monday
6. 1/5 First of May
7. 9/5 Ascension Day
8. 6/6 National Day
9. 22/6 Midsummer Day
10. 2/11 All Saints' Day
11. 25/12 Christmas Day
12. 26/12 Boxing Day

In 2025, the number of full-time working days per year is back to the level of 2023, i.e. 249 days.

How to calculate the number of working days per year

Remember that the number of working days indicated is the total number of days not counted as public holidays. As a full-time employee in Sweden is entitled to 25 days of annual leave each year, this affects the number of days actually worked.

A simplified calculation of the number of working days per year could therefore be as follows:

1. 5 working days per week x 52 weeks = 260 working days
2. 260 working days - 25 vacation days = 235 working days per year

Please note that this calculation is not exact, as it does not take into account any public holidays that fall on a weekday.

Public holidays that count as working days

In Sweden we have 12 national holidays. There are also some days that we count as public holidays, but are not red days.

Epiphany, May Day and Maundy Thursday are days that we define as full days, but are still regular working days.

Exceptions affecting the number of working days per year

In addition to our statutory holidays, there are also other factors that can affect how many working days an employee actually works in a year. For example, parental leave and sick days. The profession can also have an impact, as some professions may involve longer working days or overtime.

Another exception is that holidays such as Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, Easter Eve and Midsummer's Eve are not included in the Swedish law on public holidays. However, they are included in the Holiday Act, which treats these days as public holidays. The fact that they do not count as ordinary public holidays is therefore irrelevant, as the Holiday Act gives employees the right to be off work on these days.

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