Underemployment Increases to 19%

 On February 17^th, Gallup released a chart tracking underemployment from January 2010 to February 15^th 2012.  Gallup calculates underemployment by combining the percent of workers who are unemployed with the percent of workers who are employed at part-time jobs but who have a desire to work full-time.  While this number has dropped from the 20.3% recorded this time two years ago to 19.0% in mid-February 2012, the measure is up significantly from the mid-January figure of 18.0%.  Gallup notes that seasonal factors tend to increase both unemployment and underemployment at this time of year; however, the research organization noted that “underemployment measures show a sharp deterioration in job market conditions since mid-January.”  This increase in underemployment is also consistent with the drop off in Gallup’s Job Creation Index from +16 in January to +13 in mid-February.