Underemployment

                                                Underemployment

During the recent downturn a lot has been made of the fact that people are unemployed. Little has been made of the fact that many of the newly created jobs are part time. This has resulted in a phenomenon known as underemployment.

Of course this is great for the politicians as they can say that employment is on the rise. It does not however disguise the fact that there is a human tragedy behind all these things and that underemployment is actually quite a curse. Many people gain part time hours that still however ensure that they are not counted as unemployed yet they fail to make enough money to live a decent life and struggle to pay their bills.

Large numbers of people are reduced to working at a part time job when they would prefer to work more hours. This is very much a hidden statistic and its toll on the people involved cannot be underestimated. Not only do they have little money but they have the whole day to think about their problem!

Of course another aspect of this is the zero hour’s contract which is becoming increasingly common. Many forms are doing this and it becomes quite difficult as the person is only hired as and when required! This can also play havoc if a person is getting their income topped up by benefits as the hours can be variable and the bureaucracy of the benefit offices in this regard is something else!

However the politicians find this a very handy in painting their picture of an economy that is recovering!