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Measuring Unemployment

Analysts have difficulty measuring unemployment because polling every eligible person to find out whether he or she has a job is impossible. Therefore, analysts rely on other methods to measure unemployment. In the United States, the official jobless (or unemployment) rate is based on the number of people claiming unemployment benefits. But not all jobless people file for unemployment benefits, and people whose benefits have expired are not counted, so even this method has potential flaws.

Underemployment

Underemployment, a condition related to unemployment, occurs when a person does not work full time or does not use all of his or her skills (as when a person with a PhD in biology waits tables in a restaurant). The underemployment rate sometimes indicates more about the state of the economy than unemployment because many people want full-time work but cannot find it and thus might take whatever part-time jobs they can. Some analysts see underemployment as being better than unemployment because the underemployed are not as prone to poverty as the unemployed. In reality, underemployed people usually do not qualify for unemployment benefits, so the underemployed may be worse off than those without jobs.

Why Be Unemployed?

The rational choice approach helps political scientists understand why some people will stay unemployed rather than take part-time work. This decision seems irrational because any job is better than no job. But in many cases, it makes financial sense to stay unemployed: The unemployment benefits might be higher than the wages from a part-time job. Similarly, those without jobs often qualify for programs, such as free or cheaper health care, that are unavailable to the underemployed. Sometimes it makes sense for people to choose to stay unemployed.

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