Rise in under-employment forces workers to seek extra hours, says TUC

Nick Elvin

The number of people in the UK who are under-employed has increased by nearly 100,000 over the last two years, leading more workers to seek extra hours to top up their wages, new figures show.

The analysis of the Labour Force Survey by the TUC indicates that while unemployment has fallen by more than 400,000 since early 2012, under-employment has risen by 93,000 to 3.4 million, over a million higher than it was before the recession.

In addition to those who are working part-time because they cannot get a full-time job, those who count as under-employed also include people who are wanting more hours in their current job.

There has been a 7% rise in the number of self-employed people who class themselves as under-employed (36,000), compared to a 2% rise (57,000) for employees.

Northern Ireland has seen the sharpest increase in under-employment since the last election with a 37% rise, followed by the East of England (25%), Wales (21%) and the North West (18%).

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said the analysis shows that despite talk of a recovery, continual real wage falls mean that more people than ever are looking for extra hours to make ends meet.

“With more jobs being created, you’d expect that under-employment would be on the wane too,” she said. “But sadly with part-time, temporary, low-paid jobs often the only work that people can get, under-employment remains stubbornly high and is still rising.

“As the squeeze on pay continues, many people don’t have enough money for everyday essentials, let alone the cash to cover any unexpected emergencies. With no let up in their financial woes in sight, people are understandably looking to take on more hours just to keep the wolf from the door.

“In the last two years the number of people who say they need more hours has increased by 100,000. Without a decent pay rise and the creation of more permanent, secure jobs, under-employment is unlikely to fall any time soon.”