Unemployment is low only because ‘involuntary’ part-time work is high

Business Insider (01/27/2019)
  • Economists have discovered that record-low US and UK unemployment masks “involuntary” part-time work.
  • Involuntary part-timers are workers who seek full-time jobs but are forced into part-time work.
  • In the US, involuntary part-time work is 40% higher than it was the last time official unemployment was around 4% (August 2000).
  • Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco: “This represents about 1.4 million additional individuals who are stuck in part-time jobs”.
  • Part-time “gig” jobs (eg Uber, food-delivery) have worsened the trend by replacing full-time jobs.