The nation's unemployment report, released yesterday, was even worse than many economists had feared. But some say it was also incomplete. Workers like Toliver who are stuck in jobs for which they are overqualified went largely unnoticed. In one of the worst recessions since at least the early 1980s, economists say, the ranks of the country's underemployed workers are growing. They include not only skilled laborers who are working in unskilled jobs, but also workers who are seeking full-time employment yet have had to settle for part-time alternatives.
Their misfortune, experts warn, is the economy's misfortune, too.
"It's a huge disservice to the economy, in that it means there are highly productive, hardworking people who are not maximizing their potential," said Heidi Shierholz, a labor market economist for the Economic Policy Institute. "They cut back on their consumption. That reduces demand. It's a downward spiral. It's a huge drain on the economy."
The government does not count some types of underemployed workers -- those who are overqualified for their current work, for instance. But it does count people who are working part time when they would prefer full time. That count has jumped by 2.8 million in the past 12 months, to 7.3 million.
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