It’s a situation that has become such a cliche in today’s struggling economy that MTV plans to launch a sitcom named after it: “Underemployed.”

The characters in the show are fictional, but the story line — college graduates struggling to land full-time jobs — reflects the haunting reality for hundreds of thousands of Ohio workers who have seen their hours reduced because business is slow or who simply cannot find a full-time job.

The number of people the government designates as involuntary part-time workers jumped to 8.6 million last month from 8 million in August — nearly double the figure from December 2007 when the Great Recession began, the U.S. Labor Department reported earlier this month.

In Ohio, there were an average of 233,000 involuntary part-time workers last year, up from 139,000 in 2007, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, which could only provide annualized figures.

All told, people working part-time — or less than 35 hours a week — now account for about 6 percent of all jobs, double their share before the recession.

“What you’re picking up on is the so-called underemployment rate, and you can look at those numbers a couple of different ways,” said James Brock, a Miami University economics professor. “Of course, you’d rather see more people working full-time than part-time. But on the other hand, part-time is better than no-time, which is what we had during the recession when we were losing jobs every month.

“Let’s not lose sight of the fact that we’ve just come one of the most severe recessions in modern history, so the recovery to full employment is not going to be as quick as everyone had hoped,” he said.

In the meantime, however, the prevalence of part-time workers will continue to be a drag on the economy because part-time work simply does not pay enough to stimulate consumer spending and overall economic activity.

“Part-time workers don’t get paid as much, they can’t afford as much, and they don’t have as many benefits, if any,” Brock said. “So, it’s not an ideal situation.”

The growing number of part-time workers have tempered national jobs figures that show a slowly improving labor market in which initial claims for jobless benefits have fallen to their lowest level in four years and the national unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 percent last month from 8.1 percent in August — slightly higher than Ohio’s 7.2 percent jobless rate.

Still, job growth remains tepid, averaging just under 150,000 jobs a month, and continued economic uncertainty has led more employers to cut back hours to reduce labor costs, creating even more part-time workers desperately seeking a full-time paycheck to replace their meager part-time wages.

“Depending on the time of the year, sometimes I’m making a little more money; sometimes I’m making a little less,” said Anna Beyerle, a 23-year-old University of Dayton graduate who took a paid internship with variable hours at the Downtown Dayton Partnership when she could not find a full-time job. “You definitely have to be really conscious of your budget and being able to save for when you’re not going to be making as much.”

Still, Beyerle, who shares a small apartment with a roommate, has remained optimistic about her future job prospects and is grateful for the contacts she’s made while working for the nonprofit.

“I’m doing more networking and talking to people and making business connections now,” she said. “Based on my conversations, I do think things are getting better in an economic sense. I recently talked to a company that is creating new positions. But at the same time, I’ve also had conversations with people who say they’d love to hire someone, but they just don’t have the money to do it right now.”

Beyerle’s uncertain future has forced her to put off major purchases that could help stimulate the economy.

“At this point in my life, I would like to be living by myself or living somewhere that’s a little bigger,” she said. “I’m hoping whatever position I have next will allow me to expand a little bit.”

Meanwhile, Beyerle is getting by on her paycheck and financial assistance from her parents, who have keep their daughter on their health plan in accordance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — commonly called Obamacare — that allows her to stay on her parents’ plan until she turns 26.

“Being able to stay on my parents’ health insurance for three more years is reassuring,” she said. “As much as I would like to find a job after this that gives me full-time benefits; in case that isn’t there when this position is up, this gives me a couple more years to figure things out.”

Looking for full-time work

Vicky Powell, 56, of Springfield doesn’t have that luxury.

After 11 years of full-time employment she was laid off by a local pest control company in Springfield a year ago. She has been working part-time at a Kroger grocery story since May.

“I wish I had a full-time job because having a part-time job, sometimes I don’t even have enough to pay my rent for the month, which is scary,” she said. “I don’t know how long my landlord’s going to be nice to me and let me slide.”

She hopes that her current employer will choose to give her a full-time position soon. For now, the number of hours she works varies each week, and she isn’t bringing home enough to pay all of her bills.

“It’s tough trying to pay the bills and you don’t have the money for them all, so you got to think about what you’re going to let go,” she said.

She said she’s looking for another part-time position, but it’s difficult because her second job would have to be close to Kroger’s and would need to provide flexible scheduling.

“I’m ready to give up,” she said. “I’ve got to find another part-time job or a full-time position somewhere, and somewhere it’s out there.”

With the presidential election less than a month away, a spike in the number of people working part-time for lack of a better option could dampen the enthusiasm of voters in the Nov. 6 election.

But last month’s increase in the number of part-time U.S. workers probably was not enough to sway voters one way or the other between President Barack Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney, said Bryan Marshall, a political science professor at Miami University.

“People have been focused on the issue of jobs for a very, very long time,” Marshall said. “And even though last month’s jobs numbers weren’t the ideal kind of jobs numbers for a recovery, it was still a positive move.

“That could help Obama because he can say we’re on the path, and we’re moving in the right direction,” he said. “But the Romney campaign says we still have incredibly high unemployment, and he can do better than Obama. People have already decided for the most part who they support when it comes to handling the economy, and the increase in part-time workers alone won’t have a dramatic impact.”