jan4 fau4 jyu1 si6人浮於事人浮于事

Jyutpingjan4 fau4 jyu1 si6

Yaleyàhn fàuh yū sih

語句

Definition

To have more workers than available jobs, resulting in labor surplus and difficulty finding employment.

colloquialwork

How it's used

This idiom describes a state of oversupply in the labor market where the number of available workers exceeds the actual demand. It carries a slightly formal or literary tone despite being used in everyday conversation to discuss economic conditions or office staffing issues. It is often used to explain why finding a job is difficult or why competition for a position is fierce.

Examples

ji4而gaa1家si5市dou6道caa1差，hou2好do1多hong4行jip6業dou1都jan4人fau4浮jyu1於si6事。

The market is bad right now, and many industries have more workers than needed.

gung1公si1司jan4人fau4浮jyu1於si6事，nei5你zung6仲soeng2想ceng2請do1多go3個zo6助sau2手？

The company is already overstaffed, you still want to hire another assistant?

Common phrases

se5社wui2會jan4人fau4浮jyu1於si6事

the society is overstaffed

hong4行jip6業jan4人fau4浮jyu1於si6事

the industry has more hands than needed

Common mistake

Learners sometimes mistake this for meaning that people are lazy or idle, but it specifically refers to the structural imbalance of having too many people competing for too few roles.