This share is typically lower in the service sector, although it is still quite high in some market services, including accommodation and food, as well as transport, storage and communication, according to the report received from the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Thus, between 30 and 50 per cent of manufacturing workers in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Myanmar work over 48 hours per week, says the ILO report.
Poor quality employment is the main issue for global labour markets, with millions of people forced to accept inadequate working conditions, according to the report.
New data gathered for the World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2019 (WESO) show that a majority of the 3.3 billion people employed globally in 2018 had inadequate economic security, material well-being and equality of opportunity.
The highest incidence of temporary work is found, on average, in the construction sector, with the share ranging from 21 percent in Cambodia to over 89 percent in Indonesia and Viet Nam.
Overall, more than 22 per cent (or 410 million) of workers in Asia and the Pacific are in extreme or moderate working poverty, the report says.
Progress in reducing unemployment globally is not being reflected in improvements in the quality of work, the ILO says.
The report cites the persistence of a number of major deficits in decent work, warning that, at the current rate of progress, attaining the goal of decent work for all, as set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 8, seems unrealistic for many countries.
“SDG 8 is not just about full employment but the quality of that employment,” said Deborah Greenfield, ILO Deputy Director-General for Policy. “Equality and decent work are two of the pillars underpinning sustainable development.”
The report cautions that some new business models, including those enabled by new technologies, threaten to undermine existing labour market achievements – in areas such as improving employment formality and security, social protection and labour standards – unless policymakers meet the challenge.
“Being in employment does not always guarantee a decent living,” said Damian Grimshaw, ILO Director of Research. “For instance, a full 700 million people are living in extreme or moderate poverty despite having employment.”
Among the issues highlighted is the lack of progress in closing the gender gap in labour force participation.
Only 48 percent of women are in the labour force, compared to 75 percent of men. Women also make up far more of the potential, underutilized, labour force.
Another issue is the persistence of informal employment, with a staggering 2 billion workers – 61 per cent of the world’s workforce – categorized as such. Also of concern is that more than one in five young people (under 25) are not in employment, education or training, compromising their future employment prospects.
The annual report also highlights some pockets of progress. Should the world economy manage to avoid a significant downturn, unemployment is projected to decline further in many countries.
There has also been a great decrease in working poverty in the last 30 years, especially in middle-income countries, and a rise in the number of people in education or training.
In Asia and the Pacific, economic growth continues, albeit at a slower rate than in previous years, according to the ILO.
The regional unemployment rate is projected to remain at around 3.6 per cent until 2020, below the global average.
Structural transformation has moved workers out of agriculture, but this has not created significant improvements in job quality; a large proportion of workers lack job security, written contracts and income stability.
While social protection has been significantly extended in some countries, it remains extremely low in those countries with the highest poverty rates.
The share of temporary work in market services is smaller and more homogeneous across countries, though it is still rather large in some services such as transport, storage and communication, and accommodation and food.
The situation is similar across non-market services, where temporary work accounts for around 20 per cent of total employment. Education, and health and related social activities are the two sectors in which the use of temporary workers is most widespread.
This share is typically lower in the service sector, although it is still quite high in some market services, including accommodation and food, as well as transport, storage and communication.
In recent decades, high levels of economic growth, coupled with a declining share of agricultural employment, have led to a rapid decrease in poverty rates in the region, especially in Eastern Asia.
However, the prevalence of informality and widespread decent work deficits both hinder the further reduction of working poverty rates.