At least 20 million clandestine workers in the EU

According to a recent survey conducted on behalf of the EU Commission, about 5% of Europeans have admitted to have moonlighted over the past 12 months. Taking into account the number of 410 million EU citizens older than 15 years, the number of clandestine workers therefore is 20.5 million. On the other hand, about 11% of Europeans (45 million citizens) employed clandestine workers last years.

Given that not everybody says the truth in such surveys, the real number of moonlighters might be even higher.

The average hourly pay for moonlighters amounted to 16.60 Euros with men receiving 19 Euros and women 12 Euros. On average each moonlighter worked about 200 hours per year ranging from 60 hours in Scandinavia to 350 hours in southern Europe. Services most often rendered by moonlighters pertain to the house (16%) and the household (20%) as well as repair works and hairdressing (16%). GERMAN

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