The Part-Time Jobs Crisis [View all]

[marmar]

The Part-Time Jobs Crisis
Posted on Apr 20, 2013


Americans stuck in part-time work take little comfort in news that the nation has added jobs for 30 consecutive months.

Since overall employment began to increase almost four years ago, “hiring has been concentrated in relatively low-wage service sectors, like retailing, home health care, and food preparation, and in contingent jobs at temporary-hiring companies,” The New York Times reports. At present, nearly one out of every 13 jobs is at a restaurant, bar or other food-service establishment, a record high.

Roughly 7.6 million Americans who want more hours are currently stuck in part-time positions. The figure hasn’t budged for a year, and is 3 million people higher than it was when the recession began at the end of 2007.

What’s more, these underemployed workers do not count toward the standard jobless rate of 7.6 percent. When included, the unemployment rate stands at 13.8 percent. “Today, 19.1 percent of workers say they usually work part time, defined as fewer than 35 hours a week, versus 16.9 percent when the recession started,” the Times says. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/the_part-time_jobs_crisis_20130420/