The official unemployment rate in Washington is 9.3%. We all know this number is merely a simple statistical swipe at an extraordinarily painful reality facing thousands of families.

The personal and emotional stress of unemployment is causing anxiety from Seattle to Spokane, Bellingham to America’s Vancouver.

Yet the statistic is, of course, made worse when you consider that the problem of underemployment is equally difficult and stressful on families. So little of our public infrastructure and our policies are designed to support people struggling with the unique characteristics of underemployment. Unemployment insurance and other state programs are limited. If you are unemployed you have a shot at workforce development funds, scholarships and other federal, state, county or city support. Not that it’s the answer but there are services to help and a common language around how to find it.

Those who are underemployed and are struggling to make it on 50% or 25% of their previous salaries are hit from both sides. Too much money to qualify under the terms and conditions of most programs and too little to make it on your own.

We need to recognize that this recession is fundamentally restructuring our economy from top to bottom. It will be a long, slow journey back to a healthy economy and employment will lag. Entire swaths of middle management have been eliminated, manufacturing numbers lag and service jobs cater to part time roles.

I’d like to see the state step up to tackle the issue of underemployment. That means recognizing that many people work from home as consultants, or part time, or in a fashion they didn’t expect in previous years. There is a need for us to recognize the policy implications of this structural change in our economy. Our tax structure, regulatory models and financial rules are all based upon the old fashioned idea that people have stable, full time employment.

People are adjusting–making creative and serious changes in their lives– to adapt to today’s world.

Government is often far behind. This time it hurts especially hard.