A recent study by the University of Nottingham reveals that underemployment is hitting women and younger workers hard. The study, part of the Underemployment Project with partners like Bristol One City and Salford City Council, will continue until 2026.

In the first year, they found that younger workers, minorities, and those in routine jobs or precarious contracts were most affected. Surprisingly, many underemployed workers have skills beyond what their jobs demand. This is true for younger workers, minorities, those with degrees, and those in hospitality jobs.

Underemployment

The study also shows that wage underemployment is a big issue in the UK, affecting more than 20% of working men and nearly a third of working women. Younger workers take the biggest hit, especially those in food service and management roles. The findings point to a need for targeted solutions to tackle these workforce challenges.

“Underemployment has far reaching implications for workers themselves and for the organizations where they work,” the researchers explain. “Understanding underemployment as a multidimensional phenomenon including insufficient hours of employment, limited use of skills at work and low wages is key to design adequate interventions in the U.K.”

Future research will dive deeper into these discoveries, examining how these factors work together. They’ll explore if, for instance, those facing underemployment due to low wages also deal with mismatched skills or time-related underemployment.