With the jobs numbers released
this past Friday, highlighting Gallup's underemployment statistics provides
another look into the employment situation in America. Gallup defines underemployed workers as
those who work part-time but desire a full-time job, along with Americans who
are simply unemployed. This figure
is an important supplement to the BLS' jobs numbers, as it illustrates the
lingering frustration within the American economy that is not quite as apparent
in Friday's optimistic report.
While underemployment has tailed off in recent months, it's still well
above levels seen before the recession.
16.5% of workers are underemployed, down from over 20% in 2010 and 18.1%
this time one year ago. Before the
housing bubble burst and drove the economy into a downward spiral unseen since
the Great Depression, underemployment had sunk to below 8%, but as companies
laid off workers and scaled back domestic operations, Americans were left
struggling to find full-time employment, prompting a spike in unemployment and
underemployment. Still, though,
the 16.5% underemployment rate is the lowest since the start of the recession,
and it continues to steadily drop as the year progresses.
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