underemployment exists when workers are employed part-time even though they are available for full-time employment, or workers are employed but work less than they would have wanted to, or when workers are carrying out jobs for which they are over-qualified.

Unemployment is people of working age (those in the labor force) actively seeking work at the current wage rate but cannot find one.

 

unemployment rate is the number of workers without a job, who are willing and able to work, expressed as a percentage of the workforce.