A Dynamic Labor Utilization Framework For Measuring Under-Employment

This study demonstrates that the existing Labour Utilisation Framework does not appropriately measure the actual level of underemployment. Therefore, it proposes a Dynamic Labour Utilisation Framework (DLUF) that includes a systematic method for setting the underemployment threshold. Applying these methods using data from the United States suggests that the country has yet to attain full employment as the underemployment rate averaged 13.11% (±2.5) between 1999 and 2019. Furthermore, the threshold for underemployment varies widely across groups. For example, while adult men aged 25-54 would be willing to work for about 44.18 hours per week, same-age women, on the other hand, would only be available for about 38.17 hours per week, and young men and women aged 15-24 could work only for 26.81 hours