CA Underemployment Rate Hits 22%

Long seen by economists as a truer marker than the traditional unemployment rate, CA's underemployment rate hit a shocking 22% in September. Per the Chron: "That figure includes 1.9 million jobless Californians, 1.4 million people who had to work part time, and 865,000 adults loosely described as discouraged." (Full chart after the jump.) Many of those working part time are people who were furloughed or otherwise given fewer work hours rather than being laid off. And those "discouraged" folks are the ones who no longer qualify for unemployment and who have basically given up on looking for work.

Both of our previous recent recessions have been followed by relatively shitty employment recoveries, and this one looks to be the worst jobless recovery yet. So, uh, if you're still funemployed out there we hope you're still enjoying it! And the Chron suggests maybe finding a new skill, like web design. Heh.