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WASHINGTON (CBS4) &#8213; "While the unemployment rate sits at nearly 10 percent, a new Gallup poll released Tuesday showed that nearly 20 percent of the U.S. workforce lacked adequate employment in January. The Gallup poll estimated that 30 million Americans are underemployed.

Underemployment is a different phenomenon than unemployment. Underemployment means workers may be employed, but not in a desired capacity whether it is due to compensation, hours, of level of skill and experience.

One of the many problems with underemployment is the workers in this category have less disposable income to spend on products which drive the economy. Underemployed people spent 36 percent less on household purchases in January, according to Reuters.

But despite the working conditions faced by the underemployed, Gallup found that 55 percent of those workers approve of President Obama's handling of the economy.

The official government numbers on underemployment are lower than Gallup's estimates. The Labor Department reported 16.5 percent of American workers were without employment or worked part-time for economic reasons in January."

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This doesn't count self-employed people who are without work. They don't qualify for unemployment and are under the radar.

I have a drywall contractor working here this week fixing some changes I made in my shop. He's been in business for almost 30 years and he's good. He told me he's had just 80 hours work in the past 3 months. I can give him about 20 more. He isn't on that list.

I still say that things are far worse than the gov't is admitting.
 
I think so as well. I also suspect that there will be another jump up in unemployment for Feb and that they will find that Jan numbers were wrong (woops we missed some.).
 
I am on that underemployed list! Its not fun being in the construction industry. I am working under a structural engineer so we have work when people build, and thats not often. I have been part time for more than a year. I can afford it but I have been applying for countless jobs, 10 a month minimum but I am either under or over qualified. I have not even had a single interview for any resumes I have sent out. Been with my current employee for 6 years, it was great a few years ago, I had optional OT that allowed me to work up to 80 hours a week, the pay was SO NICE! Now I am around 22 hrs a week (standard time not OT)
 
<broken link removed>

WASHINGTON (CBS4) &#8213; "While the unemployment rate sits at nearly 10 percent, a new Gallup poll released Tuesday showed that nearly 20 percent of the U.S. workforce lacked adequate employment in January. The Gallup poll estimated that 30 million Americans are underemployed.

Underemployment is a different phenomenon than unemployment. Underemployment means workers may be employed, but not in a desired capacity whether it is due to compensation, hours, of level of skill and experience.

One of the many problems with underemployment is the workers in this category have less disposable income to spend on products which drive the economy. Underemployed people spent 36 percent less on household purchases in January, according to Reuters.

But despite the working conditions faced by the underemployed, Gallup found that 55 percent of those workers approve of President Obama's handling of the economy.

The official government numbers on underemployment are lower than Gallup's estimates. The Labor Department reported 16.5 percent of American workers were without employment or worked part-time for economic reasons in January."

---------------------------------

This doesn't count self-employed people who are without work. They don't qualify for unemployment and are under the radar.

I have a drywall contractor working here this week fixing some changes I made in my shop. He's been in business for almost 30 years and he's good. He told me he's had just 80 hours work in the past 3 months. I can give him about 20 more. He isn't on that list.

I still say that things are far worse than the gov't is admitting.

I just read the poll results at Gallup


http://www.gallup.com/poll/125960/underemployed-report-spending-less-employed.aspx

and found that it did not say that it excluded self employed persons, so my guess is that they were included.
 
I just read the poll results at Gallup


http://www.gallup.com/poll/125960/underemployed-report-spending-less-employed.aspx

and found that it did not say that it excluded self employed persons, so my guess is that they were included.

So if you own a restaurant and work 14 hours a day but your restaurant hasn't made a profit in six months due to the economy, you're unemployed?

You own a construction business and you go to your office every day but you haven't had profitable work for 3 months you're unemployed?

You're a self-employed real estate agent and every day you go to your office, you go out to drive around and look at new homes on the market and you attend weekly multiple listing meetings but you haven't sold anything or made any commission money for 9 months, you're unemployed?

Right.
 
You're a self-employed real estate agent and every day you go to your office, you go out to drive around and look at new homes on the market and you attend weekly multiple listing meetings but you haven't sold anything or made any commission money for 9 months, you're unemployed?

Perhaps it does not meet the classic definition but, yes, you are unemployed, you are as unemployed as somebody who goes to an employment office every day without getting a job - you just don't admit it.

If you are a small business owner and times are bad and all you do is sit around and hope for improvement you are unemployed. If you are a small business owner and times are bad yet you work and plan for the future of the business you are employed.

You still don't get paid of course - but who said getting paid was part of being self-employed? :)
 
I think this could get confusing and another thread could go out of control. :)

My reason for posting was to show that Gallup believes unemployment is worse than the official government statistics show, that's all.

Just something to think about for planning our futures, that's all. :s0155:
 
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