Are your holidays a distant memory?

Next time you moan about the lack of holidays during the cold NZ winter months, just remember that there are only five countries in the world (out of approx. 193 countries)that receive more paid annual leave and public holidays than we do.

New Zealand ties with Italy and Belgium for sixth place in terms of those countries with the most holidays. Kiwis, Italians, and Belgians all have 30 days, although our rate of productivity varies. New Zealanders, sadly are the least productive – producing $43.73 per hour, while Italians produce $59.77, and Belgians $76.31.

It’s incredible that Belgians labour productivity per hour is more than $30 higher than our own. In fact, the only country in the top eight countries with lower productivity than New Zealand is Portugal. 

Thirty-five days holiday each year in Portugal or 34 in Spain might look like a brilliant deal, but the unemployment rates in those countries are 15.9% and 25.1% respectively. New Zealand, with unemployment of 6.9%, doesn’t look so bad after all.

The best places to be a worker are Austria and Germany where not only do you get 35 or 34 days of holiday each year, it’s also highly unlikely you will be out of a job with unemployment rates of 4.4% and 5.5% respectively.

At the other end of the spectrum is the United States, the only country in the developed world where workers do not have a single day of legally required holiday. The average worker in the US private sector receives 16 days of paid vacation days and holidays (about half of what we get) and one in four Americans does not have a single paid day off.