The Effects of Underemployment
The Great Recession has left a lot of people unemployed for long periods of time. As the economy recovers, things are slowly starting to look better for those who are looking for work. However, the overall picture is still rather bleak for those who are expecting to return to full-time jobs in the near future. The majority of the jobs being given today are low wage and part-time jobs. While the paycheck is still there, it is worth much less and without any benefits that go along with full-time work.
One of the effects of this is underemployment. Underemployment basically means that a worker has a job, but it isn't nearly enough to pay the bills, or isn't a full-time job. A worker who is working 30 hours a week would be underemployed, or someone who has to work two part-time jobs for half the pay might also be considered underemployed. This can wreak havoc on not only the economy at large, but the individual.
The biggest effect of underemployment is that credit scores can suffer. This can happen when a house, car, student loan and cell phone payment that was easily paid for when a worker made 50,000 dollars a year suddenly becomes unaffordable working for 9 dollars an hour. A perfect credit score can be ruined in just a few missed payments, and can make it harder to obtain credit for items in the future.
It might not lead to homelessness, but it will result in a downgrade in lifestyle for those who are underemployed. A worker might go from their house to their parents home, or have to move in with grown children. Even worse, it could lead to living at a shelter, or some dingy one bedroom apartment. It might mean relying on public transit instead of your own car, and not being able to have as much of a social life due to working more hours and not having the disposal income to go out.
Another effect of underemployment is that the underemployed might have to turn to public assistance. A person who has never had to rely on others might suddenly find that the minimum wage job doesn't support two kids anymore. This can not only be a drain on the system, but it can make a person feel uncomfortable or like they are mooching off others. Feeling like there is a lack of self-reliance can be an underrated effect of being underemployed.
Underemployment is almost as bad as unemployment in the sense that a person's life can be downgraded severely. Lack of credit can lead to having to pay cash that a person may no longer have which can stagnate the economy. Not being able to pay the housing bill can result on having to use family or friends for housing which could put a strain on those relationships. At worst, it might cause otherwise self-reliant workers to use public assistance when they otherwise would not have had to.
