Irvine, Calif., — As a national recruitment firm filling positions across all industries, titles and geographic lines for the last 18 years, Decision Toolbox has a unique view of the U.S. employment landscape.
“From the 80,000 foot level, we can clearly see that the reported 9.8% national unemployment figure – concerning enough as it stands – is drastically deficient. To begin with, many unemployed workers have gone through their unemployment benefits and thus are no longer counted in unemployment figures, though they are still not working,” says Kim Shepherd, CEO of Decision Toolbox.
“Additionally, a steadily growing number of workers are underemployed,” continues Shepherd. “Though the underemployed are working, they are taking part-time jobs, or are in jobs that don’t fully employ their skills. Underemployment, along with unemployment, is widely seen as a force slowing the economic recovery. Despite its devastating effect on U.S. workers and the economy as a whole, underemployment is missed by most official definitions and measurements of unemployment.”
To get a realistic reading on the health of U.S. employment, Shepherd believes unemployment should be redefined to include underemployment. The old definition of unemployment was “out of work”; the new definition of unemployment ought to be “out of YOUR work”.
Laid off from their traditional lines of work, the underemployed are forced to take positions paying well below their accustomed compensation and lifestyles. Many people are working two jobs in an attempt to make ends meet and are still underemployed.
When taking the underemployed into consideration, the percentage of the U.S. workforce that is not working or is being involuntarily under-utilized is more along the lines of 30% – that’s a startling one out of three.
About Decision Toolbox
Founded in 1992, Decision Toolbox provides scalable and easily integrated recruitment solutions for a 7% cost per hire on average while incorporating rigorous quality controls and a twelve-month candidate guarantee. Armed with the very latest tools and a team of seasoned US-based Recruiters and Sourcers, Decision Toolbox is an on-demand recruiting department for one critical search, for large projects, or a complete RPO/RPI solution.
DT is recognized as a “Thought Leader” by organizations such as SHRM, PIHRA, and the NHRA, and was awarded the 2009 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility. Learn more about Decision Toolbox.
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