What Liberals REALLY Think: One More Way Obama's Destroying Our Prosperity

Remember when the stimulus package was supposed to keep unemployment under 8%? Well, not only has it failed at that, but now fully 1 in 5 Americans is "underemployed." Underemployed includes people who've taken part-time jobs but need/want full-time employment. It does NOT, as far as I know, include people who've just given up entirely. 20% is a pretty depressing number, but I understand Obama's team is saying that, without the stimulus package, underemployment could have been as high as 130% by now.

Frankly it stands to reason that, if the goal of Obama and the left is to get as many people dependent on government as possible, this number should thrill them. Under the weight of a poor economy and an oppressive government, few will eventually be able to bite the hand that feeds us, even if the food sucks. I can picture some half-witted acolyte dropping this on a government administrator's desk and saying, "Sir, the Obama Tyranny Initiative is moving along nicely." Then maybe giving a Roman salute before marching off somewhere.

Underemployment Rises to 20.3% in March
Unemployment saw a slight but insignificant decline
by Jenny Marlar
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Gallup Daily tracking finds that 20.3% of the U.S. workforce was underemployed in March -- a slight uptick from the relatively flat January and February numbers.
"The underemployed in March became neither more nor less hopeful about finding work soon."
These results are based on March interviews with more than 20,000 adults in the U.S. workforce, aged 18 and older. Gallup classifiesrespondents as underemployed if they are unemployed or working part-time but wanting full-time work. Gallup employment data are not seasonally adjusted.
A rise in the percentage of part-timers wanting to work full time (from 9.2% to 9.9%) is responsible for the March increase in underemployment. Unemployment saw a slight, but insignificant, decline in March.
Underemployed Americans Still Not Hopeful
Despite the Obama administration's March 16 announcement that unemployment would remain high or increase in coming months, the underemployed in March became neither more nor less hopeful about finding work soon. Six in 10 underemployed Americans are not hopeful they will find work or move from part-time to full-time work in the next four weeks. That translates to 12% of the workforce that is both underemployed and not hopeful they will find their desired amount of work. The lack of change suggests that underemployed Americans anticipated long-term difficulties in finding work well before the administration's formal announcement was made.
Bottom Line
As unemployed Americans find part-time, temporary, and seasonal work, the official unemployment rate could decline. However, this does not necessarily mean more Americans are working at their desired capacity. It will continue to be important to track underemployment -- to shed light on the true state of the U.S. workforce, and the millions of Americans who are searching for full-time employment.