Paid or unpaid overtime

More employees are working overtime

• One in five employees (21%) worked paid or unpaid overtime in a given week in 2003, accounting for 2.6 million employees who were at work. This is an increase since 1997, when 18% of all employees worked overtime. In 2003, these employees worked an average 8.5 hours per week in excess of their usual hours, somewhat less than the average 9.3 hours in 1997. Slightly more employees worked unpaid (11%) than paid overtime (9%) in 2003.
• More adult men aged 25 to 54 years reported working paid overtime in 2003 (13%) than adult women (6%). A higher proportion of adult men work in natural resources, utilities, manufacturing and construction, sectors where paid overtime is more common.
• Among workers aged 25 to 54 years, 13% reported unpaid overtime, with no difference between the sexes. Those working in education were the most likely to report unpaid overtime (33%), followed by those in professional, scientific and technical services (19%).
• Young people were much less likely than older employees to report working unpaid overtime. This may be because the jobs held by youth are more often temporary and, as a result of this, they may feel less attachment to their jobs and be less willing to work unpaid hours. Also, many young people work in industries, such as retail trade, that do not typically require a great deal of overtime.

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