But there’s another statistic that’s even more troubling. It’s for underemployment. Underemployment describes those people who have jobs, but their jobs are lesser skill or experience level than they’re trained and qualified for… and definitely not sufficient to keep them out of the red financially.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, underemployment in November 2009 was at a 15-year high of 17.5%.

Many people who are underemployed seek out part-time or temporary work. Websites such as TempJobCity.com come to the aid of those people and helps them sort through their options and opportunities. Plus each city has a network for these types of opportunities. You just need to be creative about finding them.

Some people, finding that part-time or temporary work is insufficient to give them what they need, look to starting a business of their own.

Although the name of this website and my program is called From Unemployed To Self-Employed, it could as easily be called From UNDERemployed To Self-Employed. The information is the same. The lessons are the same. The process of starting a business is the same.

It’s simply a matter of deciding to start!

Out of curiosity, I searched the internet to find out how much average adult workers in the U.S. were earning. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the average adult full-time worker in 2005 earned $39,336. (That number is four years old, but I felt it would serve my purpose.)

In some ways that $39,336 was higher than I thought it would be; in others, it was lower.

I don’t know what made me think about it, but I wanted to know the total impact to all those who are currently unemployed.

So I multiplied $39,336 by 14,500,000 jobless people. The grand total was a staggering $570,372,000,000. Yes, $570 billion dollars missing out of the pockets of families like yours and mine.

Well, I took a step back. Statistics are sometimes deceiving.

I reasoned… this, of course, was total annual income. On the one had, it was obvious that not everyone would be unemployed for an entire year. On the other, it didn’t take into consideration that when people are reemployed, they often tend to accept a lower salary.

Then, as I was reasoning through this, another question came to me. How much does the economy need to turn around in order for businesses large and small to afford to add $570,372,000,000 in annual payroll dollars?

I didn’t know where to start in order to compute that. So the answer I’m using (not statistical) is “a lot.”

When I hear reports of the economy getting better – which, of course, I hope it does sooner than later – I’m glad to hear those reports.

But I’m always reminded that the people who are earning an average of $39,336 a year are the last to rebound. In our trickle down economy, people who need the jobs the most are the last ones in line.

The one thing that these all have in common is that they boast tremendous financial rewards.

I clicked through to an offering this morning for a work-at-home Internet business. Testimonials showed some people earning as much as $7,000 a month. Others were earning between $4,000 and $5,000. As you might expect, the people in the photos that accompanied the testimonials were smiling ear to ear.

The copy was compelling. It created a sense of urgency to get in on the ground floor now… before it’s too late.

Being extremely curious – and because it was so well written – I read the entire offering… down to and including the disclaimer. The 700-word disclaimer included these points:

• Any earnings or income statements, or earnings or income examples, are only estimates of what we think you could earn. There is no assurance you’ll do as well. If you rely upon our figures, you must accept the risk of not doing as well.
• There is no assurance you’ll do as well. If you rely upon our figures; you must accept the risk of not doing as well.
• Testimonials do not represent typical results.
• Photographs or images are depiction of individuals and payment methods.
• These income examples are representative of some of the most successful participants in the program.
• Some individuals purchasing the program may make little or NO MONEY AT ALL.

I could go on and on. But you get the picture. If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Nothing takes the place of hard work.

This reaffirmed to me personally that From Unemployed To Self-Employed is on the right track… being able to help someone leverage their personal skills and abilities into a business of their own.

While From Unemployed To Self-Employed boldly proclaims that a member can be up and running in their own business in about 8 weeks, it also clearly states that in 8 weeks they’ll know if they have a viable business. They will have been able to find the business that’s best for them, create a business model, and test it.

It doesn’t promise that they’ll be rich, that all their troubles will be over, or that they’ll be out shopping for their new cruising yacht by the end of the month.