[ by Melanie Gretchen ] While "unemployment" remained stagnant at 8.2%, the "underemployment" rate in June inched up to 14.9% from 14.8% in May - second straight month with an increase.  The term "underemployed" is defined as including part-time workers who can't get a full-time job and people who want to work but have given up the job search. Lack of Motivation. Unfortunately, current eligibility stacks the deck against solving the underemployment situation.

Case in Point: Nicole Sandler, 52, who lost her job at Air America in January 2010 when the radio station closed toward losing her Miami house 15 months later.  She is ineligible for unemployment benefits because she was a contractor, according to Bloomberg.  Currently, she earns some $1,000 a month from a web cast she produces 5 nights a week and takes temporary radio jobs when she can get them:

"I work but I’m still technically unemployed.  I guess I could try to find a job doing something else, but at 52 to take an entry-level job I may as well do what I’m doing. What am I going to do, work in a supermarket?"

[CI Note: Ms. Sandler's comments prompt the following questions:  Should she?  That is, would she be able to make more money?   If she applied, would she be hired?  If eligibility changed, how much would the current underemployment count, 14.9%, change? For further details, go to [NY Post, 7/7/12].