This volume is spread over the cities (753,000 people) and the countryside (606,000), said the HCP in an information note on the situation of the labor market in Q2-2020.

The underemployment rate has thus risen from 9% to 13% at the national level, from 7.8% to 12.2% in urban areas and from 10.6% to 14.1% in rural areas, according to the same source.

As regards the volume of the employed labor force in a situation of underemployment linked to the number of hours worked, it has almost tripled, from 343,000 to 957,000 persons at the national level. The corresponding rate rose from 3.1% to 9.1%.

The note also pointed out that the number of employed persons in underemployment due to insufficient income or a mismatch between training and employment rose from 652,000 to 402,000 at the national level.

The population groups that experienced the largest increases in the underemployment rate were those aged 45 to 59 (+5.3 points), those with no qualifying diploma (+4.2 points) and men (+4 points).

The sectors having experienced a strong increase in the underemployment rate are industry including handicrafts with +6.9 points (from 5.9% to 12.7%), construction with +5.9 points (from 15.1% to 21%) and services with +3.8 points (from 7.7% to 11.5%).