WHILE the Government boasts of how unemployment has reduced in April this year after the economy reopened, one thing often missed is another issue plaguing the job market; underemployment!
According to Investopedia, underemployment is defined as: A measure of employment and labour utilisation in the economy that looks at how well the labour force is being used in terms of skills, experience, and availability to work.
People who are classified as underemployed include workers who are highly skilled but working in low-paying or low-skill jobs and part-time workers who would prefer to be full-time. This is different from unemployment in that the person is working but not at their full capability.
Taking to social media, Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) vice president Dr Thanussha Francis Xavier started the ball rolling by sharing the sad stories of how graduates working for menial jobs due to poor job market.
Upon sharing several cases she had heard, the MUDA leader stated:
According to the Labour Market Review on 1Q 2021 released by the Department of Statistics (DOSM), underemployment of tertiary educated individuals had breached the two million mark for the first time in Malaysia.
The rate of underemployment had increased at an alarming rate of 43% between 1Q 2019 and 1Q 2021.
The report also revealed that about two out three underemployed individuals are youngsters, between the age of 15-34 years.
An economic malaise
Upon seeing Thanussha’s feed, several netizens shared their underemployment experience and how it has affected their morale and livelihood.
User Herel said:
User Eam_With_A_T added:
Netizen KZ stated:
On that note, user Prime Mate remarked: “Agree. We are too focused on unemployment rate and overlooked the issue of underemployment.
“These youths and their family spent a fortune for them to pursue their studies in respective field and yet the job opportunity is very limited. The issue need to be looked into seriously.” – July 19, 2022
