Honolulu resident Dan S. is finding Hawai'i's downsized economy means his work is smaller-sized as well.

Dan, who left a full-time job in the mortgage industry when activity slowed last year, now works in a part-time customer service position for Hawaiian Airlines. He also is looking to re-establish himself in mortgage sales as the industry picks up again because of the refinancing boom.

"You have to do what you have to do to get out and find some income," said Dan, who is in his late 40s and asked that his real name not be used.

"I've got two part-time jobs and I'm trying to get a third part-time job."

Unfortunately Dan isn't alone as the state's economy creaks and groans its way through a recession.

He is one of the thousands of Hawai'i's so-called underemployed workers who don't show up in unemployment reports.

This legion of workers includes people that aren't earning at their full capacity. Among them are those who have had their hours cut, and who have been let go from full-time work and can only find part-time jobs.

They also may have loads of education and experience but have been forced to take a lower-paying job than their qualifications would justify.

"We don't go out as much as we used to," said Ted T., a former executive who asked he remain anonymous because of the stigma of being out of full-time work. He's taken up consulting work on a part-time basis and had a tough time getting a temporary job because employers think he's overqualified.

"Rather than going on vacation every year we take a vacation when it falls into the budget," he said.

While there are no overall numbers that are available on underemployment, there are facets of the phenomenon that are, such as those who have part-time work but want full-time positions.

In January 2009 there were 26,468 people in Hawai'i who worked less than 40 hours a week despite seeking full-time employment. That is more than three times the 7,576 people in that category in January 2008, according to Lawrence "Bill" Boyd, a labor economist.

"There's some things that are going on that I think are disastrous both locally and nationally," Boyd said.

"Employers in this recession seem to much more quickly let loose workers."

During the past 27 months Hawai'i went from a historic low in statewide unemployment (1.8 percent not seasonally adjusted in December 2006) to the highest level in 30 years (6.5 percent in February 2009).

Workers have faced setbacks as the state's economy first slowed and then faced a series of economic shocks including the bankruptcies of Aloha and ATA airlines last spring, record oil energy prices and then a global financial and credit market crisis.

'HOMELESS SOON'

The unemployment rate in Hawai'i is lower than the national average because Hawai'i's economic downturn isn't as severe as it is in some other states.

But that does nothing to salve the sting of trying to pay mortgage, rent, insurance, car payments and other expenses on part-time pay.

"I'm going to be bankrupt and homeless soon," said James Welch, who was let go from a sales position at a Lahaina art gallery on Jan. 22 and now works a commission-only position at a Makawao gallery. He hasn't sold anything yet but the job comes with access to a computer and telephone that he uses to look for other work.

"This is the worse economic scenario that's occurred in my existence."

Welch, 43, also is advertising online for work doing household repairs and other jobs and has even gone to a Taco Bell in Lahaina looking for work. He's also selling off possessions while brainstorming other ways to stay afloat.

"You can't even get a job at Burger King or Taco Bell right now," he said.

Nationally, the Department of Labor has noted a rise in what it calls "involuntary" part-time work, or people working less than 35 hours a week because they have had their hours cut or can only find part-time positions. The Labor Department found that the majority of people in this category had their hours cut, a phenomenon that's occurred locally as construction work has dried up and hotel room occupancy has dropped.

"There are fewer hours to go around and people are sharing," said Eric Gill, financial secretary-treasurer of Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees, Local 5, AFL-CIO.

"Sometimes when it's slow they will give up days and let someone else work."

The same type of sharing is at work on some construction job sites where workers try to put in enough hours to maintain medical coverage, said Hawaii Carpenter's Union Financial Secretary Ron Taketa.

But "as the economy worsens there are fewer and fewer projects that you can share hours on," he said. Statewide unemployment among his 7,600 union members is running around 40 percent.

"Underemployment would be a blessing at this point," he said.

At some hotels, when occupancy wanes and hours are cut the members with seniority will "bump" those below them to pick up more work. Gill said the end result is that the lowest person in seniority, perhaps an on-call worker, doesn't get called as much.

"Some part-timers end up effectively on call," he said.

Labor economist Boyd said that may be a reason why the number of multiple job holders, or people that hold down two or more jobs, is down.

TEMPORARY WORK

In January the number of multiple job holders totaled 48,372, down from the 57,209 a year earlier, Boyd said, quoting Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers.

He said some of the people that lost one of their jobs would still be classified as employed for purposes of calculating the jobless rate here.

The loss of hours has pushed people into temporary agencies looking to make up for lost wages. More people are coming through the door at Olsten Staffing Services' office on Fort Street Mall, but there are fewer jobs to go around.

That's of concern since some economists see temporary staffing agencies as being a leading indicator when it comes to the economy. The agencies are first to notice when companies are staffing up by taking on temporary hires.

They also are first to notice when people aren't hiring.

At Olsten, President Signe Godfrey has noticed a decrease in the number of requests from clients for temporary hires. At the same time she's seen a lot of people taking jobs they wouldn't otherwise consider just to generate some income.

"We love the candidates that are coming in now," Godfrey said. "They're great."

But she said in times like these usually her business prospers as companies pull back from hiring on a permanent basis and seek out temporaries to handle work overflow.

That hasn't been happening and in fact the reverse was true. December was bad, with January similar. Godfrey, for the first time in 22 years, said she had to lay off a quarter of her own staff.

Some of the job demand has come back, but remains lower than last year, she said.

Meanwhile, former mortgage broker Dan isn't waiting around for job opportunities to arise.

He's started offering handyman and other services through online advertisements. He's also cut back on expenses to match his downsized income.

"I still count my blessings," he said, noting some people haven't been able to get any work.

"I'm still in a good position compared to some people."

UNDEREMPLOYED DATA UNAVAILABLE MONTHLY

The official monthly unemployment rate doesn't give the entire picture when it comes to problems people are facing, including people working part-time hours when they want a full-time position.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics realizes this and has started providing more information than the widely used official unemployment rates to better detail what's happening with workers. But the data isn't available on a monthly basis for states.

One reason why they are only available on an annual basis is that the monthly numbers are subject to a larger margin of error than the official unemployment number.

Nonetheless, the data give an idea of which way the overall market is moving. As such, Hawai'i experienced more unemployment, discouraged workers and underemployed workers in 2008 compared with 2007.

The measures range from fairly narrow definitions (U-1, or unemployed for a lengthy period) to broad measures of underutilization (U-6, or all categories of unemployed and underemployed).