Where Does Temp Work Fit Into Underemployment?

*Unemployed and underemployed workers and supporters at the American Dream Movement Rally in October 2011. Creative Commons photo by David Sachs/[**SEIU lnternational**](http://www.flickr.com/photos/seiu/6215796240/).* *Paul Solman answers questions from the NewsHour audience on business and economic news here on his [**Making Sen$e**](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/makingsense/) page. Here is Thursday's query:* **Name: Steve** **Question**: After reading the piece on underemployment, I see part-timers are calculated in underemployment numbers. But what about people doing temporary work? I'm an unemployed/underemployed attorney surviving on document review work that involves projects that start and stop without notice, often with large gaps in between. Does the agency that places me report a job placement for a given time period even though I may not be working for a good chunk of it? Is this captured in conventional underemployment numbers? **Paul Solman:** Yes it is, Steve, so long as people like you tell the truth when the survey taker from the Bureau of Labor Statistics comes calling. The BLS interviews 60,000 households a month. The [**underemployment**](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/businessdesk/2012/03/-steve-chock-uses-a.html) tally comes from those interviews. You are counted as "part-time for economic reasons" if you say you worked less than full-time, but are looking for full-time work. *This entry is cross-posted on the [**Rundown**](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/)- NewsHour's blog of news and insight.*

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