Australia's success in evading the global recession is coming back to haunt it.

A delayed fallout is manifesting itself in a steady climb in underemployment, in direct contrast to countries such as the US, Europe and the UK, which were consumed by the 2008 financial crisis.

Problems in the labour market have become stark over the past year as full-time jobs fell, part-time roles picked up some of the slack and many people quit hunting for work. Credit:Erin Jonasson

Over the last few years, the average rate of workers wanting more hours has fallen throughout those markets, according to OECD data compiled by AlphaBeta.

But Australia's underemployment has sharpened, as commodity prices peaked and mining investment started winding down.