Under-employed workforce has grown by 42%

The number of people who are under-employed because they cannot find full-time work or are unable to do more hours in their current jobs has risen by 42 per cent in the last four years.

Figures from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) show that there are now 3.3 million people who are under-employed in the UK, equating to more than one in ten of the country's workers.

The research shows that women are more likely to be in this position than men, with around one in eight women eager to work more hours than they currently do.

People working in low-skilled jobs are also more likely to be affected. Indeed, around one in five of these employees cannot get enough hours.

However, that's not to say professional occupations are untouched by the problem of under-employment. The TUC's figures reveal that the number of under-employed women working in jobs like nursing, teaching and legal roles has risen by 127 per cent since 2008.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "A million people have lost their jobs since the eve of the recession in 2008. But this tragic figure only tells half the story.

"A further million people are now trapped in jobs that don't have enough hours to provide the income they need to get by."