Underemployment Rate

Definition

The total number of unemployed workers, marginally attached workers, workers employed part-time for economic reasons as a percent of the civilian labor force and marginally attached workers, 2011.

Description

The underemployment rate is a broader measure of unemployment and provides a more comprehensive look at the state of the labor market. In addition to unemployed workers looking for jobs, underemployment includes workers who are working part-time but want to be working full-time, and those who are not actively looking for work but who want a job and have looked for work within the past 12 months. This latter group includes “discouraged workers” who have completely given up on searching for a job.

Without sufficient income earned through employment, most families will have difficulty financing basic consumption and paying down debt, let alone saving for the future. Part-time workers also occupy a tenuous position, as part-time workers rarely receive benefits from and are often viewed as expendable by their employers.

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Underemployment Rate

State	Underemployment Rate (%)	Rank
United States	15.9%
Alabama	16.2%	38
Alaska	13.5%	16
Arizona	18.0%	46
Arkansas	14.1%	20
California	21.1%	50
Colorado	15.1%	27
Connecticut	15.4%	31
Delaware	13.2%	13
District of Columbia	15.8%	35
Florida	17.6%	43
Georgia	17.1%	41
Hawaii	15.1%	27
Idaho	16.1%	37
Illinois	17.0%	40
Indiana	15.7%	34
Iowa	11.3%	6
Kansas	12.1%	10
Kentucky	15.6%	33
Louisiana	13.4%	15
Maine	15.1%	27
Maryland	12.6%	11
Massachusetts	14.3%	22
Michigan	18.8%	49
Minnesota	12.8%	12
Mississippi	16.4%	39
Missouri	14.4%	24
Montana	15.3%	30
Nebraska	8.9%	2
Nevada	22.7%	51
New Hampshire	11.3%	6
New Jersey	16.0%	36
New Mexico	14.7%	25
New York	14.3%	22
North Carolina	17.9%	45
North Dakota	6.6%	1
Ohio	14.7%	25
Oklahoma	10.7%	5
Oregon	17.5%	42
Pennsylvania	13.9%	18
Rhode Island	18.6%	48
South Carolina	18.2%	47
South Dakota	9.3%	3
Tennessee	15.5%	32
Texas	14.0%	19
Utah	13.3%	14
Vermont	11.6%	8
Virginia	11.8%	9
Washington	17.8%	44
West Virginia	13.7%	17
Wisconsin	14.2%	21
Wyoming	10.6%	4

Source

Alternative Measures of Labor Underutilization by State, 2011 Annual Averages. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012.