One In Four American Workers Will Be In Low-Wage Jobs For The Next Decade

[heidimoose134]

One In Four American Workers Will Be In Low-Wage Jobs For The Next Decade

By Travis Waldron on Aug 2, 2012 at 9:30 am

The share of the economy made up by low-wage jobs has grown since the Great Recession, and according to one new study, it won’t shrink in the future even as the economy continues to recover. The number of Americans working in low-wage jobs — those that pay wages equal to or below the poverty line — willremain steady over the next decade, according to the Economic Policy Institute, as CNNMoney reports:

Some 28% of workers are expected to hold low-wage jobs in 2020, roughly the same percentage as in 2010, according to a study by the Economic Policy Institute.

The study defines low-paying jobs as those with wages at or below what full-time workers must earn to live above the poverty level for a family of four. In 2011, this was $23,005, or $11.06 an hour.

The study is the latest to detail the growth of low-wage occupations in the United States. A recent report from the National Employment Law Project found that more than one in fourprivate sector workers now make less than $10 an hour, an even lower threshold than was used in the EPI study. The five industries that are comprised mostly of low-wage workers, meanwhile, are growing faster than the overall American economy.

While the number of low-wage jobs has increased, so has the gap between low-wage workers and the executives who employ them. The federal minimum wage would need to be raised by more than $3 an hour to match the buying power it had in 1968, and overall wages in the U.S. have been virtually stagnant for decades, even as pay for chief executives has risen exponentially. At the 50 companies that employ the largest number of low-wage workers, chief executives made an average of $9.4 million last year.

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/08/02/627021/workers-low-wage-jobs/?mobile=nc

[Carpy]

I would suspect it may be longer than a decade.  Especially if Obama is voted back in and Obamacare isn't repealed and replaced.

[Kate_Momof3]

You can not blame this on Obamacare. The trend has been set. It started years ago.

The uneven distribution of wealth is what is fucking everything up.

Quoting Carpy:

I would suspect it may be longer than a decade.  Especially if Obama is voted back in and Obamacare isn't repealed and replaced.

 

[matreshka]

Since we have switched to a service industry economy this is not going to change unless we find other industries in which to train and employ people.

[shimamab]

I always love your calm and reasoned responses, matreshka. Thank you for being the adult in the room :)

Quoting matreshka:

Since we have switched to a service industry economy this is not going to change unless we find other industries in which to train and employ people.

[matreshka]

Aww thank you :)

Quoting shimamab:

I always love your calm and reasoned responses, matreshka. Thank you for being the adult in the room :)

Quoting matreshka:

Since we have switched to a service industry economy this is not going to change unless we find other industries in which to train and employ people.

[Sisteract]

And what's to stop the low wages from trickling down?

If job availability remains low, and people become even more desperate, what's to stop companies from slowly and methodically lowering everyone's wage?

 An industrialized Third world, for sure-

[Peanutx3]

It is a little scary to look at it that way.

Quoting Sisteract:

And what's to stop the low wages from trickling down?

If job availability remains low, and people become even more desperate, what's to stop companies from slowly and methodically lowering everyone's wage?

 An industrialized Third world, for sure-

[jcrew6]

There is too much uncertainty with how involved the govt will get in the affairs of businesses, with global economies, with healthcare cost mandates. They are holding on to their money waiting.

“The future remains uncertain for small-business owners,” the National Federal of Independent Business “Many [are] tentative to expand their businesses or hire more workers in the coming months.”

“There’s tremendous uncertainty in terms of tax policy,” said George Mokrzan, chairman of the economic advisory committee of the American Bankers Association.

The complaints have been especially intense during the Obama administration, which has promoted thousands of new rules in energy, finance and health care.

http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-06-15/economy/32242614_1_spending-cuts-uncertain-times-tax-hikes-and-spending

This is one of MANY articles, interviews, and hell polls/studies I have read that say the same thing.

[im23vaughn]

This isn't surprising. And it's not 1 parties fault .It's the American publics fault. We were so quick to shop at Walmart and other stores that pay their employees crappy wages that we forgot that we need a strong middle class to make this country work. We were so quick to purchase made in China goods and forgot that if it was made in China that probably means that American factory workers lost their jobs.

Wages will get lower and lower. Even in fields were a degree or specialized training is required we are seeing wages drop. Kids go to college for 4 years and can barely get a job making over $12/hr coming out of college.

[Sisteract]

It's crystal clear to me.

Motivated by greed- 

I've been saying it for about 5 years, if you have a well paying job you had better be watching your back-

The money to buy everything including the government that makes the policies.

About 100 people in the world control everything-

Quoting Peanutx3:

It is a little scary to look at it that way.

Quoting Sisteract:

And what's to stop the low wages from trickling down?

If job availability remains low, and people become even more desperate, what's to stop companies from slowly and methodically lowering everyone's wage?

 An industrialized Third world, for sure-