With the introduction of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS)
since 2008, a newly derived variable, namely underemployed, has become
available. This variable is derived according to the “time-related” approach
(i.e. those who are employed, but would like to work longer hours
and are available to work longer hours in the near future). However,
underemployment could also be derived according to the “inadequate
employment situations” approach (e.g. under-utilisation of skills, overqualification).
There are virtually no in-depth local studies that examine
underemployment in South Africa. Hence, this paper investigates the extent
of underemployment according to two definitions, before examining
whether the characteristics of the underemployed are significantly different
from those of the other employed.