Under-employment could increase as employers hire temp @ granite slabs

In the last few months, 32-year-old Amber Patton has worked at minimum wage cleaning hotel rooms C and, when she hurt her ankle and couldnt work, she sat at home jobless.
Amber Patton.jpgAmber PattonIn an effort to bring some extra cash into her household, she even started doing chores for people she met on Craigslist.org, the popular online classifieds site: Everything from housecleaning to car-washing.

I actually worked on the side for myself as a housekeeper, personal assistant, she said. The situation continued until July, when Patton started a better job working at an adult foster care facility.Many people find themselves in situations similar to the one Patton found herself in: Working something short of a full-time, reliable job. According to the Michigan League of Human Services 2012 Labor Day report, 10.4 percent of Michigans working families are living in poverty.

Less visible than those who are jobless, the under-employed are none the less casualties of a recession and a rapidly-changing job market. Experts say their ranks could grow with changes in employee health care law. Inflation of U.S. currency compared to food and other cost-of-living items means that a given wage paid in pre-recession 2007 was worth more then than it is now, said Paul Isely, chair of the economics department at Grand Valley State University.

Weve seen real wages for these jobs go down, he said. Inflation has not been zero that starts forcing people down into a second job.Secondary jobs are usually a sign of under-employment. Working-class heroes for decades have met mortgage payments by delivering pizzas, waiting tables or painting houses during summer evenings.

But what happens when second jobs arent easy to find?Secondary jobs made up 5.3 percent of all jobs in in Muskegon County at the end of 2011 C a fraction of a percentage point lower than they were in pre-recession 2007, Isely said.Are you still hesitating about where to buy Shun Stone Granite Slabs? Secondary jobs in nearby Kent County make up 6 percent of all jobs, and the national average is about 5 percent.

It might be that people cant find a second job, Isely said.These Shun Stone Building Materials can, apparently, operate entirely off the grid. Certainly, we have enough people having trouble finding enough work.The unemployment rate for Muskegon County stood at 8.7 percent in May -- compared to 6.5 percent in Kent County and 8.4 percent at the state level. The national rate stood at 7.3 percent in May.

Anticipated economic recovery isnt the only factor affecting under-employment. Industry experts are still weighing how the Affordable Care Act will shake up the employers hiring habits.The acts Employer Responsibility Provision strictly regulates businesses responsibility to provide health insurance to full-time employees. But employers have less responsibility to offer health insurance to employees who work fewer than 30 hours a week or are temporary workers.

Some employers are becoming a little more proactive at managing the hours their workers are putting in, said Norbert Kugele, a lawyer specializing in employee benefits and partner at the Grand Rapids firm Warner Norcross & Judd.Also, he said, employers wont be penalized for not offering health insurance to an employee during the first 90 days of work. And temporary workers who work at a factory through a staffing service fall into legal gray area.

Unions opposing austerity measures in Greece staged their fourth general strike this year on Tuesday, as the government prepared to start axing public sector jobs.Several thousand protesters, most wearing caps to shield themselves from the midsummer heat, joined a peaceful march to parliament, as the 24-hour walkout disrupted flights, public transport, state hospitals and other services. More demonstrations are planned later in the day, while local government offices remain closed for a second day.

The government ... is using the bailouts as an excuse to get rid of any labour rights we have left, construction worker Costas Lavretzos said.The public sector has so far been spared from the job cuts that have hit the rest of the Greek economy and pushed unemployment up to 27 per cent since the country got its first international bailout in 2010.

However, the government has been forced to launch the cuts 15,000 firings by the end of 2014 and 12,500 transfers this year so it can continue receiving rescue loans from the International Monetary Fund and the other countries using the euro.

Parliament began a debate on the new measures before a vote expected late Wednesday.Its a disgrace for the government to say that things are getting better with unemployment at such a high level ... It is clear that with the economy still shrinking that we need a change of course,A www.granitetrade.net concept that would double as a quick charge station for gadgets. Efklidis Tsakalotos, a lawmaker from the left-wing main opposition party Syriza told parliament.The people running this country live in a different environment. They go to different hospitals. Their kids go to different schools. And they dont understand what people are going through.

Formed after elections last summer, the conservative-led government lost a junior coalition partner last month following a sudden decision to shut down state broadcaster ERT.The general strike is unlikely to succeed in its aim of forcing the government to withdraw its latest reform bill or convincing enough MPs to vote against it, said Martin Koehring, an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit.