The Rise and Fall of Underemployment : Implications for Workers' Health

Underemployment, particularly in the form of working part time involuntarily, spiked to record levels in 2020, although by 2023 it had receded to its prepandemic level. Underemployment is disproportionately concentrated among workers who are paid hourly, have precarious work schedules or relatively low family incomes, are members of vulnerable demographic groups, and are employed in certain industries such as leisure and health services.Various aspects of mental and physical health and well-being are affected when workers’ actual hours fall short of their desired hours. In particular, psychological distress, depression, and anxiety can increase. However, psychological distress appears to be reversible when a person moves out of underemployment and into full-time or voluntary part-time work. Working part time involuntarily as opposed to voluntarily is associated with reduced self-reported general health and antecedents to it, such as greater work stress, work-life imbalance, and financial insecurity. Further research using US longitudinal data is needed to establish more definitively the causal effects of being underemployed on workers’ concurrent and longer-term health outcomes. The level, intensity, and adverse health effects of being underemployed could be moderated by public policies