Solon, Orville Jose C.Cabalu, Gabrielle EliseYaco, Madison Paege2026-03-132026-03-132025-12-16https://selib.upd.edu.ph/etdir/handle/123456789/5268This paper investigates how educational attainment influences the likelihood that a worker wants more hours of work, and if this relationship changes between 2018 and 2023, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. A study by Felipe (2018) reflects how the desire for more working hours has long been persistent among the employed Filipinos. Moreover, reports from the International Labor Organization (2020) and the Philippine Development Institute for Development Studies (2022) suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has further intensified this, significantly reducing total working hours and increasing the share of workers working less than the ideal 40 hours weekly. Becker’s (1964) human capital theory and the classic labor supply model of leisure-labor to frame the research question and draw the hypotheses that are used here. The empirical model is estimated using the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) Labor Force Survey for the years 2018 and 2023 to represent the labor market outcomes before and after COVID-19 pandemic. Logistic regression method was used to examine the probability that a worker wants more hours of work as a function of educational attainment and other control variables including the demographic, occupational, and regional factors. The logit model used to assess whether this relationship changed after the COVID-19 pandemic. Results suggest that, after controlling for other factors, the effect is negative and statistically significant for both high school (-0.1995, p = 0.021) and college and above (-0.4614, p <0.001), but small. This relationship did not significantly change between 2018 and 2023. This implies that, while policies focused solely on raising education level may not yield commensurate reductions in underemployment, educational attainment continues to be a strong and consistent indicator of job quality, regardless of economic shocks.en"wanting more hours of workeducational attainmentunderemploymentlabor economicsCOVID-19 pandemicThis paper investigates how educational attainment influences the likelihood that a worker wants more hours of workand if this relationship changes between 2018 and 2023owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. A study by Felipe (2018) reflects how the desire for more working hours has long been persistent among the employed Filipinos. Moreoverreports from the International Labor Organization (2020) and the Philippine Development Institute for Development Studies (2022) suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has further intensified thissignificantly reducing total working hours and increasing the share of workers working less than the ideal 40 hours weekly. Becker’s (1964) human capital theory and the classic labor supply model of leisure-labor to frame the research question and draw the hypotheses that are used here. The empirical model is estimated using the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) Labor Force Survey for the years 2018 and 2023 to represent the labor market outcomes before and after COVID-19 pandemic. Logistic regression method was used to examine the probability that a worker wants more hours of work as a function of educational attainment and other control variables including the demographicoccupationaland regional factors. The logit model used to assess whether this relationship changed after the COVID-19 pandemic. Results suggest thatafter controlling for other factorsthe effect is negative and statistically significant for both high school (-0.1995p = 0.021) and college and above (-0.4614p <0.001)but small. This relationship did not significantly change between 2018 and 2023. This implies thatwhile policies focused solely on raising education level may not yield commensurate reductions in underemploymenteducational attainment continues to be a strong and consistent indicator of job qualityregardless of economic shocks.Thesis