Low unemployment masks army of underemployed
By online business reporter Michael Janda

The ABS says about half of all underemployed part-time workers had actively looked for increased hours (ABC News: Giulio Saggin, file photo)
Australia's unemployment rate has stunned economists by appearing to peak at 5.8 per cent, and falling to 5.3 per cent in January.

However, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has been collecting a broader set of figures on underemployment that paints a less rosy picture of the workforce.
Out of the estimated 10.9 million Australians in employment in September 2009 (when the unemployment rate was 5.7 per cent), more than 800,000 said they would prefer to work more hours.

Around 76,000 were ordinarily full-time workers who had been pushed into taking reduced hours during the week of the survey, while the vast bulk (around 736,000) were part-time workers who wanted more hours.

26 per cent of part-time workers would have preferred to work more hours in September 2009, compared with 23 per cent a year earlier.

When you add the number of underemployed to the number of unemployed, the ABS estimates that 13.5 per cent of the labour force was 'underutilised' (working less hours than they wanted or no hours at all) in November 2009.

That is a substantial rise from the low of 9.9 per cent in February 2008, and suggests a much greater degree of labour shedding than the unemployment rate - which had risen from a low of 3.9 per cent in February 2008 to a peak of 5.8 per cent in June, July, August and October 2009.
Not only is the number of underemployed part-time workers substantial, but the degree of their underemployment is also high, and rising.

More than half of the underemployed part-time workers wanted full-time hours (at least 35 hours a week).

The average underemployed part-time worker wanted an extra 14.1 hours of work a week - that is 37 per cent of a standard full-time work week of 38 hours.
That is up from underemployed part-time workers wanting an extra 13.4 hours in September 2008.

Underemployment was also more severe for particular demographic groups.
The ABS says there were more underemployed part-time women than men (452,100 compared to 283,800); that part-time workers aged 20-34 had the highest incidence of underemployment (29 per cent); and that older workers had the longest average period of underemployment, with almost 50 per cent of workers over 45 being underemployed for a year or more.

So while Australia is undoubtedly performing substantially better on the employment front than countries such as Spain, which has unemployment around 20 per cent, there are clearly a significant number of households that have had a decline in income during the financial crisis, many more than is reflected in the unemployment rate alone.

Summary:
The article mainly describes the situation faced by the Australian about the employment in the industry. Australian unemployment rate has risen tremendously in January 2010 as compared to the year 2009. There is 13.5 per cent of the labour force who was 'underutilised' (working less hours than they wanted or no hours at all). The average underemployed part-time worker wanted an extra 14.1 hours of work a week - that is 37 per cent of a standard full-time work week of 38 hours. While percentage of women that are underemployed are higher than the percentage of men who are underemployed. Besides, older worker have been underemployed for a longer period with 50% being underemployed for one year or more.

Critique:
This article clearly states the economy crisis faced by Australia. Many facts are shown in this article which give a clear image to the reader about the actual number of worker that are underemployed. An outsider can easily figures out what was happen in Australia without referring to other articles. As a conclusion, this article enables me to understand and learn about the economy in Australia.