Underemployment Is A Major Problem. Could It Result In Riots This Summer?

At Least 27 Million Americans 'Underemployed'

While the official unemployment rate last year was 8.1 percent, a far greater percentage of working-age Americans were "underemployed."

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the underemployment rate in 2012 was 14.7 percent, amounting to 23.1 million people.

Underemployed Americans include those who are officially considered unemployed, plus involuntary part-time workers and "marginally attached" workers — those who have not looked for work within the last four weeks but have sought a job within the last year and are available for employment.

About 2.5 million people were marginally attached workers last year, and 8.1 million were involuntary part-time workers.

As troubling as that may be, the actual figures are likely much worse, according to a report by Wendell Cox for NewGeography.com.

For instance, Gallup estimated that the nation's underemployment rate stood at 17.4 percent in August, meaning that there are more than 27 million underemployed workers.

Also, economists at the Center for College Affordability and Productivity have estimated that 48 percent of college graduates who are employed hold jobs that do not require a college degree. These are not included in the underemployment figures. If they were, the underemployment rate would soar.

Nevada had the highest underemployment rate during the year ending on June 30, 19 percent, followed by California with 18.3 percent. The lowest rates were in North Dakota at 6.2 percent and South Dakota, 7.8 percent.

"The productivity gap that results from underemployment constrains the U.S. economy at a time of unusually severe financial challenges," observes Cox, visiting professor at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers in Paris and the author of "War on the Dream: How Anti-Sprawl Policy Threatens the Quality of Life."

"College graduates face not only a grim employment market, but have student loan repayments that require good jobs," he adds.

"Yet things could get worse. The soon to be implemented Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) has a built-in incentive for employers to shift workers to part-time status" or to hire part-time workers to avoid the mandate to provide health insurance to full-time workers.