It’s hard to turn on the television or computer and not hear about the state of the economy. America’s credit rating fell and politicians continue to attempt to fix America’s debt problem while playing political tennis. For many Americans, unemployment, underemployment, and all the problems that go with it are a cruel reality. They are sad and frustrated, and some are having a hard time finding good jobs in their field.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its July statistics on unemployment and job creation. The unemployment rate decreased in July to 9.1 percent from June’s 9.2 percent with 117,000 new jobs. The DOL called this “little changed at 9.1 percent,” according to their press release.

Now, what about those people who are underemployed? This is something that is very hard to measure, even for the Department of Labor, because underemployed workers are technically “employed.” Being underemployed means that a person has education and expertise that qualifies him or her for a higher paying job that relates to a professional field or degree.

For example, an engineer at a manufacturing firm could be laid off. No other firms are hiring or perhaps he’s too experienced and companies don’t want to hire him because he’s worth too much. He looks for a job in his field until his unemployment insurance runs dry and he has to go to work at a local chain retailer making a little over minimum wage. It may sound like a movie plot. But it is a reality for an uncountable number of honest Americans.

“Should I give up? I’m looking into other things with a history degree, but I can’t afford to go back to school,” said 27-year-old Amanda Dovatte. She graduated from Lewis University with a History Education degree in December 2007, and is substitute teaching in Naperville, Ill., awaiting any instructional opening.

“I don’t know what to do. [We were told] go to school, get an education, and you’ll get a job. That’s not happening. Having a degree doesn’t matter anymore,” said Dovatte.

She wants the government to address the problems of jobs for educated people. “I want politicians to start worrying about creating jobs, and not just construction worker jobs, but firefighters, police, and teachers. I want them to start worrying about the people who went to school,” said Dovatte.

Dovatte’s concerns seem valid, as the little job growth that did happen last month occurred in the fields of health care, manufacturing, and mining, while government employment continued to decline. Hospitals and ambulance services added a marginal 14,000 jobs and retail added a marginal 26,000 jobs. Manufacturing added more than 24,000 jobs. Construction, transportation, warehousing, information, financial, and leisure services changed very little.

Dovatte’s husband, a U.S. Armed Services veteran, is also searching for a job in the fields of fire control and medicine with little luck.

The pain is felt in law enforcement, too. “I would like to be a police officer or at least in a position of management considering my degree,” said 26-year-old Bryan Eckard. He earned a degree in Criminal Justice from Aurora University in December 2008. He is a security guard at a local hospital in St. Louis, Mo., and has another part time job at a nearby retail giant to bring in some additional cash. Eckard is constantly on the lookout for openings in the local police department.

“It’s difficult having student loans, it feels like we’re in a hole we can’t get out of. My Criminal Justice degree seems useless. My dream was to join the FBI and now they’re looking for people with business and accounting degrees. It’s frustrating,” said Eckard.

“Colleges kind of deceive you, we’ll do this and we’ll do that [to help you get a job] but they don’t,” said his wife, Debbie Eckard. “It would be nice if the government helped people with student loans. Right now people who are starting school have more benefits but what about those people who have student loans to pay off?”

About two years ago, Eckard was on his way to becoming a border patrol agent, having passed all his tests and interviews. Then he was told he could not be hired due to a federal hiring freeze for border patrol agencies.

According to the DOL, 117,000 jobs were created in July of this year. Still, 13.9 million people are unemployed and the uncountable number of underemployed people makes the situation sadder. It is simple mathematics: if the unemployment rate is going to drop, then the number of additional jobs created has to be in the millions; 117,000 jobs only moved the index by .1 percent.

The people out there who are working hard at an education and networking to improve their situations are being dampened by a lack of demand in the workforce. These aren’t people demanding to be corporate executives. These are people who simply wanted to be teachers, police officers, and firemen.

Underemployment a Growing Concern