Unemployment and Underemployment

One of the critical problems many American residents face during their middle adulthood ages is unemployment or underemployment. While the first concept is clear, the latter is defined by the textbook as being overqualified for the current job or unable to find a full-time position (Kraynok et al., 2017). It has been proven to affect an individual’s overall well-being, increasing the rates of suicides, mental illnesses, and alcohol abuse. This problem has been significantly aggravated by the on-going pandemic, which has resulted in a dramatic shrinking of the global economy. Among the various measures, the U.S. government implemented in March a historic stimulus package providing the unemployed with “an extra $600 a week on top of their state benefits” (Luhby, 2020). This decision became a major step in relieving the social strain and allowing millions of people to survive the economic hardships caused by the imposed restrictions