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+--- Thread: Almost half of U.S. workers between ages 18 to 64 are employed in low-wage jobs (/showthread.php?tid=235062)
Almost half of U.S. workers between ages 18 to 64 are employed in low-wage jobs - Numo - 12-02-2019
Almost half of U.S. workers between ages 18 to 64 are employed in low-wage jobs, the Brookings Institution found.
Low-wage jobs are pervasive, representing between one-third to two-thirds of all jobs in the country's almost 400 metropolitan areas.
Smaller cities in the South and West tend to have the highest share, such as Las Cruces, New Mexico, and Jacksonville, North Carolina, where more than 6 in 10 workers are in low-wage work.
America's unemployment rate is at a half-century low, but it also has a job-quality problem that affects nearly half the population, with a study finding 44% of U.S. workers are employed in low-wage jobs that pay median annual wages of $18,000.
Contrary to popular opinion, these workers aren't teenagers or young adults just starting their careers, write Martha Ross and Nicole Bateman of the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program, which conducted the analysis.
Most of the 53 million Americans working in low-wage jobs are adults in their prime working years, or between about 25 to 54, they noted. Their median hourly wage is $10.22 per hour — that's above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour but well below what's considered the living wage for many regions.
Even though the economy is adding more jobs, there's increasing evidence that many of those new positions don't offer the kind of wages and benefits required to get ahead. A new measure called the Job Quality Index recently found there is now a growing number of low-paying jobs relative to employment with above-average pay.
For the U.S. overall, median household income is $66,465, according to Sentier Research, with roughly half of families earning less than that amount.
Workers aren't shy about expressing their frustrations, with about 6 of 10 workers saying their jobs are mediocre to downright bad, according to a recent Gallup job-quality survey. For instance, 1 in 5 workers told Gallup their benefits are worse now than five years ago.
"Not enough jobs paying decent wages"
Low-wage jobs represent between one-third to two-thirds of all jobs in the country's almost 400 metropolitan areas, Brookings found. Smaller cities in the South and West tend to have the highest share, such as Las Cruces, New Mexico, and Jacksonville, North Carolina, where more than 60% of workers are low-wage.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/minimum-wage-2019-almost-half-of-all-americans-work-in-low-wage-jobs/#
Re: Almost half of U.S. workers between ages 18 to 64 are employed in low-wage jobs - SteveG - 12-02-2019
oh, piffle
you just have to have the right skills
Re: Almost half of U.S. workers between ages 18 to 64 are employed in low-wage jobs - Pam - 12-03-2019
My daughter is in that category. After 10 years as a vet assistant she is well below the $18/hr. She’s almost ready to sit for the licensed vet tech test (nurse practitioner of the vet world). That still won’t get her to $18/hr. It’s truly disgusting. There’s no way to survive independently.
Re: Almost half of U.S. workers between ages 18 to 64 are employed in low-wage jobs - Filliam H. Muffman - 12-03-2019
Wow Pam, that's disappointing. I hope it at least has decent benefits. A school bus driver position pays more (but only has 30 hours/wk).
Re: Almost half of U.S. workers between ages 18 to 64 are employed in low-wage jobs - cbelt3 - 12-03-2019
Don't forget the progressive destruction of the idea of a 'full time job' for most Americans.
"Full time employees - who work more than 32 hours a week, must receive benefits"
Yay !
"No employee will be allowed more than 32 hours."
(crickets)
EVERY SINGLE RETAIL OPERATION screwed their employees that way.
(Ok, except Costco, welcome to Costco, I love you)
Re: Almost half of U.S. workers between ages 18 to 64 are employed in low-wage jobs - vision63 - 12-03-2019
Pam wrote:
My daughter is in that category. After 10 years as a vet assistant she is well below the $18/hr. She’s almost ready to sit for the licensed vet tech test (nurse practitioner of the vet world). That still won’t get her to $18/hr. It’s truly disgusting. There’s no way to survive independently.
I certainly don't know what the solution is but don't think "no way." Some way there is a way.
Re: Almost half of U.S. workers between ages 18 to 64 are employed in low-wage jobs - vision63 - 12-03-2019
cbelt3 wrote:
Don't forget the progressive destruction of the idea of a 'full time job' for most Americans.
"Full time employees - who work more than 32 hours a week, must receive benefits"
Yay !
"No employee will be allowed more than 32 hours."
(crickets)
EVERY SINGLE RETAIL OPERATION screwed their employees that way.
(Ok, except Costco, welcome to Costco, I love you)
Government tried to create remedies by dictating how employees will be compensated based on their work hours. Government clapped it's hands and declared "problem solved."
Of course it was a no-brainer for companies to shift the employees around to suit their needs. Government was all like: "Hey, we tried."
No they didn't try. It was projected that this would happen and it did happen. That means it wasn't a good solution in the first place.
Whoever conceived the idea, THEY screwed the employees.
Anytime we try to create remedies that help people try to make dead end work better sustain them, we fail. Instead of growing your stable of abilities and skills, you continue to try to make a no skill job like driving an Uber car work for you.
We should be rebuilding the crumbling infrastructure of this nation instead. But we can't do that if we keep letting Republicans beat us while we try to make public college free (at which point they'll realize it doesn't pay for where you live, your expenses, your food and the other 80% of college costs).
Re: Almost half of U.S. workers between ages 18 to 64 are employed in low-wage jobs - Pam - 12-03-2019
vision63 wrote:
[quote=Pam]
My daughter is in that category. After 10 years as a vet assistant she is well below the $18/hr. She’s almost ready to sit for the licensed vet tech test (nurse practitioner of the vet world). That still won’t get her to $18/hr. It’s truly disgusting. There’s no way to survive independently.
I certainly don't know what the solution is but don't think "no way." Some way there is a way.
Yeah, it's called becoming a member of a two income household. Or living with mom forever.
Re: Almost half of U.S. workers between ages 18 to 64 are employed in low-wage jobs - vision63 - 12-03-2019
Pam wrote:
[quote=vision63]
[quote=Pam]
My daughter is in that category. After 10 years as a vet assistant she is well below the $18/hr. She’s almost ready to sit for the licensed vet tech test (nurse practitioner of the vet world). That still won’t get her to $18/hr. It’s truly disgusting. There’s no way to survive independently.
I certainly don't know what the solution is but don't think "no way." Some way there is a way.
Yeah, it's called becoming a member of a two income household. Or living with mom forever.
If I lived with my mother, I'd be eating way better food.