With the employment crisis gradually abating and the end of recession here, life can begin to get back to normal for the British population. Yet unfortunately, as inflation is still relatively high and energy prices are set to rise this winter, many families will continue to feel their budgets being stretched to the point where paying bills and purchasing essentials remains something of a difficulty.
This is especially true for those who cannot find full time employment, or whose work cannot give them enough hours to pay a decent living wage. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the number of British people currently in this situation is rising, with more than 3.05 million workers now classed as “underemployed.”
3.05 million are underemployed
Since the start of the economic difficulties in 2008, there has been a 47 per cent increase in underemployed workers in the UK, with the numbers rising by around 1 million in only 4 years. The majority, about two thirds, of this figure came from a sharp rise at the height of the financial crisis in 2009 and the numbers have continued to rise steadily to the present day.
The ONS claims that the high percentage of workers in the UK who keep part time hours is largely to blame for rising figures in the field of underemployment, as 63 per cent of the underemployed figure today is made up of part time workers.
However, part time work is not the only problem – as self-employment has risen sharply since the start of the recession, many business owners are now struggling to find enough work to occupy their days. Couple this with the number of businesses who are simply keeping workers on with nothing to do in preparation for full economic recovery, sometimes referred to as the “hidden unemployed”, and the reasons behind the high number of workers who consider themselves underemployed become apparent.
Speaking of the ONS figures, Dr John Philpott from The Jobs Economist says; “The extent of underemployment identified in these official figures highlights the degree to which the headline unemployment count understates the current shortage of work in the UK economy.
“While some work is obviously better than none, approaching one in five economically active people are struggling in today’s ‘no or not enough work’ economy.
“Add in the effect of falling real take home pay for the vast majority of people in work and it becomes clear how much distress is being suffered in the jobs market.”
The past few months have seen consistently falling unemployment figures as the Government claims it is taking huge steps in combatting the jobs crisis. However, recovery is slow, which is doubly concerning given that the jobs market was one area which remained remarkably resilient even during the most tough times during the double dip recession.
Xenios Thrasyvoulou, of PeoplePerHour, believes that the rising underemployment figures are a sign that the recession has changed the nature of the jobs market irretrievably from what society was used to pre-2008.
He says; “The labour market that emerged from the recession is not the same as the pre-crash one.
“This data is a stark illustration of a deep and fundamental shift in Britain’s workforce.
“Underemployment surged in the recession, but has continued to rise even as the economy has returned to growth.”
Today, technology has progressed to the stage that machines can now do many of the jobs that humans can, thus rendering many skilled and unskilled workers almost obsolete. The real question is whether this new technological era can find a place for the workers of the UK before a very real underemployment crisis is on our heads.
Do you think underemployment will be the next focus for the Government, or will they be satisfied with simply finding people jobs regardless of how few hours those employees will work? Do you feel that you are one of the 3 million underemployed workers in the UK and, if so, are you currently trying to take steps to improve your situation?
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