Unemployment And Underemployment

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Underemployment is a major issue in today’s society as it has an impact on many students and individuals that are overqualified. It can be defined as an involuntary employment conditions, where workers are in jobs, either part time or full time and that their skills, including formal and work experience/training, are technically underutilized and undervalued (Glyde, 1977, p. 246). Firstly, it is easy to determine if an individual is either underemployed or overqualified for a job. According to Feldman, underemployment can be broken down into five dimensions (Maynard & Joseph, 2008, p. 141). The five dimensions are more education than required by the job, employment in a field outside of the area of education, more skills or experience than required by the job, involuntary employment in part-time or temporary work and lastly low pay (Maynard & Joseph, 2008, p. 141). …show more content…

According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, it reports that 20% of all college graduates work in jobs that don’t require a college degree and that more graduates were hired for temporary or contractual positions (Feldman & Turnley, 1995, p. 692). Individuals that are classified as underemployed or overqualified have to deal with many problems. Lastly, students faced with underemployment can lead to lower levels of job satisfaction, work commitment, job involvement, internal work motivation and can have a negative attitude towards their job and life (Feldman & Turnley, 1995, p. 694-695). It is frustrating for students because they work so hard in school to get a degree and only find a job that isn’t in their field. The main focus is on college graduates who are working in jobs in which they are overqualified for and how it impacts

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