For millions of part-time workers, the jobs crisis isn't over

The underemployment rate remains abnormally high, a reflection of continuing weakness in the labor market

Part-time
(Image credit: (iStock))

All things considered, the U.S. has done a decent job of addressing the jobs crisis of the last few years. The jobless rate in the U.S. is just 6.2 percent, well below the double-digit peak it reached in 2009. In the eurozone, by contrast, the unemployment rate is 12 percent — and it isn't coming down, the result of a succession of policy mistakes that have facilitated an epic economic depression.

But while the U.S. has used fiscal and monetary stimulus to bring down the headline unemployment rate, there are still a whopping 7.5 million people working part-time who want full-time jobs. And for the sake of the economic recovery, the U.S. government must do more to help these part-time workers.

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John Aziz is the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also an associate editor at Pieria.co.uk. Previously his work has appeared on Business Insider, Zero Hedge, and Noahpinion.