• Economists use underemployment to better assess Africa's labor conditions
  
  
• ILO defines two types: too few hours and low-pay, low-productivity work
  
  
• Underemployment reveals job quality issues hidden by low unemployment rates
  

Economists increasingly rely on the concept of underemployment to assess labor conditions in Africa, moving beyond traditional unemployment figures that often paint an incomplete picture.

In most countries, full-time work typically entails approximately 40 hours a week, with stable hours and pay that accurately reflect a worker’s skills. Underemployment appears when this standard breaks down, for example, when people work fewer hours than they could or spend long hours on activities that bring very little income.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines underemployment as a situation in which a worker’s time or skills are not fully used. This definition includes people who want to work more hours as well as those whose long working days bring very low earnings.

The ILO distinguishes two main forms of underemployment. The first is insufficient working hours: some workers put in fewer hours than they want, but are available to work more. This is common in urban informal services, seasonal farming, and other precarious activities that often involve young workers. The second form concerns low productivity and low earnings. Many people work full-time or even longer, yet their activities produce very little income because of limited equipment, low output, or restricted access to training. This pattern is widespread in economies dominated by the informal sector and self-employment.

Understanding underemployment is important because it provides a more accurate picture of African labor markets than unemployment rates, which can often be low but misleading. It reveals job quality, economic productivity, the obstacles facing young people, and the constraints of an informal sector that absorbs most workers but offers few real career prospects.

By shedding light on how people work, under what conditions and with what economic return, underemployment becomes essential for understanding the challenges of inclusive growth. As long as many African workers remain trapped in unstable or low-pay jobs, progress on poverty reduction will remain limited.

Félicien Houindo Lokossou

Read More:

11/11/2025- Precarious, Poorly Paid, and Unprotected: The ILO’s Definition of the Informal Economy

06/11/2025- Understanding the ILO's Measure of a Nation's Workforce