Nearly half of American workers identify themselves as underemployed, according to PayScale’s research. But who are they? What jobs do they hold? And how does education play a role? Read on to learn more about the plight of … The Underemployed!



Roughly 46 percent of Americans consider themselves underemployed, according to how you define the term. Here at PayScale, we define underemployment as having part-time work but wanting to work full-time, or holding a job that doesn't require or utilize your education, experience or training.



While unemployment is easy to measure—the number of people who are actively seeking work and have been unable to find it—measuring underemployment is more difficult.