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Yes, you can be employed and underemployed at the same time. In U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) measures, unemployment means a person meets specific job-search and availability criteria and is counted among the unemployed. Underemployment is broader: it can describe workers whose hours or work do not match what they want or can do. The official unemployment rate, U-3, does not count someone as unemployed just because they want more hours.
Underemployment and unemployment at a glance
| Question | Unemployment (U-3) | Underemployment |
|---|---|---|
| Can the person have a job? | No, not while classified as unemployed in U-3. | Yes. A person can have a job and be underemployed. |
| What does the measure capture? | Unemployed people as a share of the civilian labor force. | In BLS U-6, includes people working part time for economic reasons; everyday usage can also refer to other mismatches between a job and a worker’s needs or capacity. |
| Does wanting more hours count? | No. A part-time worker remains employed for U-3. | It can count in BLS’s part-time-for-economic-reasons group if the worker meets the hours, availability, and reason criteria. |
These terms are not opposites: a person may be employed but underemployed, while a person classified as unemployed is not employed. The distinction matters when interpreting labor statistics or describing someone’s work situation.
What counts as unemployed in the U.S.?
U-3 is the official U.S. unemployment rate. The BLS defines it as “total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor force.” The BLS state labor-underutilization measures use this definition. The unemployed are not simply everyone without a job: labor-force classification also depends on whether someone is available and has actively looked for work under the applicable survey rules. People outside the labor force are not automatically counted as unemployed.
Because U-3 divides the number of unemployed people by the civilian labor force, it does not describe everyone who wants a job or more work. A person who is working part time is counted as employed, even if they would prefer full-time hours.
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Who is underemployed in BLS measures?
Part time for economic reasons
In the BLS category included in U-6, a worker must have worked fewer than 35 hours in the survey reference week, wanted and been available for full-time work, and reported an economic reason for working part time—for example, reduced hours or inability to find a full-time job. The BLS Monthly Labor Review describes people in this group as often called “underemployed” or “involuntary part-time workers” (2014 article).
Not every part-time worker is underemployed by this measure. Someone who prefers part-time work, is unavailable for full-time work, or works part time for a non-economic reason does not meet this category’s stated criteria.
Broader everyday usage
People also use “underemployment” for situations such as working in a job below one’s skill level or earning less than desired. Those may be meaningful descriptions of a worker’s circumstances, but the BLS part-time-for-economic-reasons category does not measure every skills mismatch or pay concern. When discussing a statistic, identify the specific definition rather than treating all uses of the word as interchangeable.
How U-6 differs from U-3
U-6 is the BLS’s broader labor-underutilization measure, not simply another name for the official unemployment rate. It includes unemployed people, all marginally attached workers, and people employed part time for economic reasons. Its denominator is also broader: the civilian labor force plus marginally attached workers. U-3 and U-6 therefore count different groups and use different denominators.
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Marginally attached workers are outside the labor force under the official classification because they did not actively search for work in the prior four weeks. They want and are available for work, however, and have searched during the prior 12 months. U-6 includes them; U-3 does not.
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The BLS reported all-states averages of 4.4 percent for U-3 and 8.2 percent for U-6 for July 2025 through June 2026, using 11-month averages. October 2025 data were not collected during the federal government shutdown, so the period excludes that month. The BLS cautions that these estimates are not strictly comparable with other periods. These figures illustrate the difference between the measures; they should not be read as annual averages or compared directly with statistics covering a different period. See the BLS state-measures page.
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How to interpret a labor statistic
- Check the measure. U-3 is the official unemployment rate; U-6 captures a broader set of labor underutilization.
- Check who is counted. A part-time worker who wants full-time work may be employed for U-3 and included in U-6 only if the economic-reason criteria are met.
- Check the period and geography. A rate needs its location and time span; averages for different periods are not automatically comparable.
- Check what “underemployed” means. The BLS’s measured part-time category is narrower than everyday descriptions involving skill level or pay.
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