“This is the first time I ever heard of using underemployed. Why is that being noticed so much this round? Is that the new way of keeping track?”
I think it is to give a more accurate picture, as the Wal-Mart original model (almost full-time hours, no benefits) spreads and the number of people working skilled jobs has fallen, forcing them into unskilled, low-paying jobs. It shreds Obama’s “the private sector is doing fine” nonsense (if anyone out there still believed it anyway).