8 million Pinoys ‘overemployed’

More Filipinos are “overemployed” or working longer just to earn more.

Close to eight million Filipinos or almost 25 percent of those currently employed are considered overemployed, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported yesterday.

Data from the DOLE-Bureau of Labor and Employment and Statistics (BLES) showed that five of every 20 employed Filipinos rendered more than 48 hours a week of work and the number of these so-called “overemployed” is fast growing.

Citing the BLES report, Labor Secretary Arturo Brion said the annual growth rate of the overemployed is higher at 4.1 percent, compared to 2.6 percent of all employed persons in the country.

The same BLES report also revealed that Filipinos who opt to work longer hours were younger, married women.

A majority of the overemployed now belong to the 25 to 34 years age bracket, unlike five years ago when those aged 35 to 44 years accounted for the bulk of the group.

Around 65 percent of those who worked more than 48 hours a week were married and 23.5 percent were women, while men accounted for 22.8 percent of the number.

Less than 10 percent of the overemployed were college graduates. High school graduates got the biggest share of the number at 30.7 percent of a total of 2.3 million working people.

More than half cited the desire to earn more as a major reason for working longer hours, although around 40 percent claimed it was a job requirement.

Around 866,000 or 11.5 percent of the overemployed expressed desire for additional jobs.

Brion said there is a need to take a closer look at the statistics on overemployment, since working longer hours is detrimental to the health of an individual and indicates low income or unproductive work.

“These data on overemployment are essential in analyzing and finding a solution to the country’s employment problems,” he said.

Earlier, the International Labor Organization (ILO) reported that Filipino women workers are working exceptionally longer than their counterparts worldwide, thus affecting their relationship with family.

Under the ILO Convention, working hours of persons employed in any public or private industrial undertaking shall not exceed eight in a day or 48 hours a week, and a worker is entitled to a 24-hour rest after six consecutive normal work days.