How to Use underemployed in a Sentence

underemployed

adjective
  • For many underemployed and poor young people in Africa, this is a poignant statement.
    — Munachim Amah, CNN, 3 Nov. 2017
  • This rate remains high, with about 45% still underemployed after a decade.
    — Cheryl Robinson, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2025
  • Mechanic finds that not having to work for a living is a lot like being underemployed and poor.
    — Robin Kaiser-Schatzlein, The New Republic, 22 June 2021
  • Perhaps some underemployed members of Gen Z will build memes about this.
    — Ryan Craig, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
  • For every parent who is overwhelmed, out of work or underemployed, good people who refuse to let their children see their fear.
    — John Kass, chicagotribune.com, 23 Dec. 2017
  • Gasoline there remains among the cheapest in the world, in part to help keep costs low for its underemployed, who often drive taxis to make ends meet.
    — Washington Post, 3 Dec. 2019
  • There are many people who are unemployed or underemployed.
    — Harriette Cole, Mercury News, 11 Feb. 2026
  • What are poor, underemployed, and unemployed folks to do with few resources and even less compassion?
    — Susana Morris, Longreads, 8 Sep. 2017
  • People with epilepsy who are employed are likely to be underemployed or earn less than workers who do not have epilepsy.
    — Kieran Nicholson, The Denver Post, 26 Nov. 2019
  • Meanwhile, many college grads are underemployed and burdened by student debt.
    — WSJ, 18 June 2017
  • Many of us are unemployed or underemployed right now and actively trying to figure it out.
    — Essence, 20 Nov. 2025
  • Some 5 million of those workers are could be unemployed or underemployed.
    — Chris Isidore, CNN, 16 Mar. 2020
  • Nearly 43% of young US grads are underemployed.
    — Paulina Cachero, Bloomberg, 13 Apr. 2026
  • In the event, the police stationed at every polling station were thankfully underemployed.
    — The Economist, 25 Nov. 2019
  • Jobs that once went to teenagers, mostly retail and restaurant jobs, are increasingly going to underemployed adults.
    — Jeffrey J. Selingo, Washington Post, 9 June 2017
  • That means workers who are unemployed or underemployed as a result of the coronavirus should be able to receive benefits right away.
    — Sona Patel, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2020
  • At the same time, millions of out of work or underemployed Americans are struggling to keep a roof over their head and others have become homeless.
    — USA Today, 14 Apr. 2021
  • Those numbers don’t take into account people who are underemployed or people who have dropped out of the job market for various reasons.
    — Paul Brinkmann, OrlandoSentinel.com, 23 Mar. 2018
  • Blueprint An underemployed day-care teacher on the south side struggles to put his life in order after a close friend is killed in a random shooting.
    — Chicago Reader, 12 Oct. 2017
  • Women are underemployed compared with those in neighboring Bangladesh or Nepal.
    — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 4 Apr. 2025
  • Yet just 19% of those grads are considered underemployed, according to the research.
    — Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 24 Feb. 2026
  • Evie, who at the start of the book is in the camp of idle, underemployed protagonists that stud much of contemporary fiction, begins to find meaning in her work.
    — Lora Kelley, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2025
  • Even a decade later, 45% remain underemployed.
    — Bruno V. Manno, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
  • WorkOne is Indiana’s branch designed to help those who are unemployed or underemployed.
    — Matthew Vantryon, The Indianapolis Star, 13 May 2020
  • The state is warning payday lenders not to take advantage of unemployed and underemployed workers during the crisis.
    — Chris Foran, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2021
  • Once the labor market is ready to absorb underemployed farmers, much of the rest of rural poverty can be eradicated by the right to fully own one’s land.
    — Derek Scissors, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2016
  • Among those who start underemployed, 88% stay in jobs that offer wages and require skills similar to high school-level positions.
    — Bruno V. Manno, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
  • In it, Andie (Ringwald) is an artsy, offbeat teenager who’s keeping her underemployed dad afloat by working at a record store.
    — Julie Tremaine, Peoplemag, 13 June 2024
  • More than half of college graduates start their careers underemployed, and nearly half are still underemployed a decade later.
    — Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 30 Sep. 2025
  • In addition to people who are jobless, some are underemployed or just want to pick up extra money here and there, like retirees or teachers on vacation breaks.
    — Russ Wiles, azcentral, 7 June 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'underemployed.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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