U.S. Working Poor On The Rise, Says Report
The number of U.S. jobs paying a poverty-level wage increased by 4.7 million between 2002 and 2006, according to a new analysis of census data released Tuesday.
A report by The Working Poor Families Project, based on an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, found conditions worsened for the working poor in the four years ending in 2006, as the number of low-income working families increased by 350,000. The project is funded by the Annie E. Casey, Ford, Joyce and C.S. Mott Foundations.
The report defines a low-income working family as those earning less than twice the Census definition of poverty. In 2006, the most recent year for available data, a family of four earning $41,228 or less qualified as a low-income family.
The number of jobs with pay below the poverty threshold increased to 29.4 million, or 22 percent of all jobs, in 2006 from 24.7 million, or 19 percent of all jobs, in 2002.
"The real surprising news, the alarming news, is that both the number and percentage of low-income families increased during this period," said Brandon Roberts, co-author of the report. "This was a time when we had solid and robust economic growth."
An increase in poverty "is not just a new phenomena over the last six months," he said.
Poverty-wage jobs increased in part because 2.5 million new jobs paid poverty wages; additionally 2.2 million jobs that paid greater than poverty wages in 2002 became poverty-wage jobs by 2006, as pay failed to keep up with the cost of living, Roberts said.
In two states, Mississippi and New Mexico, 40 percent of working families were low income in 2006, according to the report.
In 11 other states, at least 33 percent of working families were low income: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.
The number of low-income families rose to nearly 9.6 million, or 28 percent of the total population, in 2006 from 9.2 million, or roughly 27 percent, in 2002, according to the report. The number of children in low-income families rose by roughly 800,000 during the same period, climbing to 21 million from 20.2 million.
During the period, the number of working families spending more than one-third of their income on housing grew to 59 percent from 52 percent.
The report sought to address what it called myths about low-income families. For instance, it found 72 percent of low-income families work, with adults in low-income working families working, on average, 2,552 hours per year in 2006, the equivalent of one and one-quarter full-time jobs.
It also found that 52 percent of low-income families are headed by married couples; 69 percent have only American-born parents; 43 percent are white and non-Hispanic and only one-quarter of low-income families receive food stamp assistance.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. A report by The Working Poor Families Project, based on an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, found conditions worsened for the working poor in the four years ending in 2006, as the number of low-income working families increased by 350,000. The project is funded by the Annie E. Casey, Ford, Joyce and C.S. Mott Foundations.
The report defines a low-income working family as those earning less than twice the Census definition of poverty. In 2006, the most recent year for available data, a family of four earning $41,228 or less qualified as a low-income family.
The number of jobs with pay below the poverty threshold increased to 29.4 million, or 22 percent of all jobs, in 2006 from 24.7 million, or 19 percent of all jobs, in 2002.
"The real surprising news, the alarming news, is that both the number and percentage of low-income families increased during this period," said Brandon Roberts, co-author of the report. "This was a time when we had solid and robust economic growth."
An increase in poverty "is not just a new phenomena over the last six months," he said.
Poverty-wage jobs increased in part because 2.5 million new jobs paid poverty wages; additionally 2.2 million jobs that paid greater than poverty wages in 2002 became poverty-wage jobs by 2006, as pay failed to keep up with the cost of living, Roberts said.
In two states, Mississippi and New Mexico, 40 percent of working families were low income in 2006, according to the report.
In 11 other states, at least 33 percent of working families were low income: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.
The number of low-income families rose to nearly 9.6 million, or 28 percent of the total population, in 2006 from 9.2 million, or roughly 27 percent, in 2002, according to the report. The number of children in low-income families rose by roughly 800,000 during the same period, climbing to 21 million from 20.2 million.
During the period, the number of working families spending more than one-third of their income on housing grew to 59 percent from 52 percent.
The report sought to address what it called myths about low-income families. For instance, it found 72 percent of low-income families work, with adults in low-income working families working, on average, 2,552 hours per year in 2006, the equivalent of one and one-quarter full-time jobs.
It also found that 52 percent of low-income families are headed by married couples; 69 percent have only American-born parents; 43 percent are white and non-Hispanic and only one-quarter of low-income families receive food stamp assistance.
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Posted by wl7bzh
I don''t work for an Auto company.
I bet your knowledge of automobiles does not go beyond knowing where to stick the key.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by TRMarine79 at 03:12 PM : Oct 15, 2008
Gee,,, I geuss I know nothing about the southern states,,
Even though I live those same southern states,,,,,
Posted by mytoosense at 03:10 PM : Oct 15, 2008
Hey schmuck,
All I know is that someone admitting to being involved with the quality of vehicles for companies which are facing financial difficulties due to the quality of vehicles-has the audacity to pretend to be an expert on anything.
As for overreaction, I think a lot of consumers are upset about so-called automotive engineers and the companies they work for. Your pretense as an expert on anything is only exceeded by your arrogance.
If you work for GM, you have no reason for arrogance in anything.
Is there any correlation there?
Of course with the closings of GM plants, and future closings of other plants in the north, we''''ll have many more poor people in that region, I believe.
Posted by slim1h2o"
What are you trying to say about Southern states? Do you realize that NASA is here? And guess where your precious Dell computer came from that you are typing on now? Don''t put an ignorant label on something you know nothing about.
You are an ignorant and arrogant azz.
Oh, that''''s right you''''re an engineer which makes anybody working for you a subordinate and thus "Blue Collar". Excuse me your Holiness, as we peons need your sage words of wisdom as well as your obvious conceit-Not.
Posted by wl7bzh
Hey putz,
Blue collar means Union, in this case the UAW. They are Union Electricians working on automated assembly lines using computers as tools. They are not Computer Technicians although most of them could be if they didnt mind taking a big pay cut.
Quit flying off the handle with your knee jerk reations about things with which you are clueless.
If they screw up, equipment self-destructs and workers can be injured or killed.
What do you two do with a PC besides post ill informed BS.
Posted by mytoosense at 01:50 PM : Oct 15, 2008
You consider computer technicians "Blue Collar"?
You are an ignorant and arrogant azz.
Oh, that''s right you''re an engineer which makes anybody working for you a subordinate and thus "Blue Collar". Excuse me your Holiness, as we peons need your sage words of wisdom as well as your obvious conceit-Not.
Posted by wl7bzh at 12:04 PM : Oct 15, 2008
most quit after first logon, to logon it says "press any key to continue"....drives them crazy because they can''''t find the "any" key.
Posted by jamesm12341
As an Electrical Controls Engineer, the Blue collar electricians I work with at Ford, GM and Chrysler use PCs to modify and troubleshoot the computer programs that control the automated (Robotic) assembly lines.
If they screw up, equipment self-destructs and workers can be injured or killed.
What do you two do with a PC besides post ill informed BS.
Posted by wl7bzh
I agree this is a contibuting factor.
Another was people using their home equity and credit cards as ways to maintain a middle class lifestyle while middle class wages were shrinking and the cost of necessities were rising.
Then the credit bubble burst.....
Posted by mytoosense at 12:32 PM : Oct 15, 2008
Maybe it''s not about being smart enough. It may be about a little thing called delayed gratification-that little bit of character that enables one to wait in order to be able to afford what they want. Instead most folks today have to what they want now.
People not having the "smarts" to get higher education can take remedial courses in order to get higher education. That is they can get the higher education if they are willing to sacrifice "now" for "later".
The "have it now attitude" is what got us into this economic mess in the first place.
Posted by jamesm12341
jamesm12341 point appears to be: If you did not get a college degree or you were not smart enough to get a college degree in a field that is still valued in todays economic environment, you deserve to be poor.
He also stated that any job that can be done cheaper overseas, should be done overseas.
America owes nothing to it''s citizens but a Hot and a cot if they break the law.
What Jamesm fails to realize is, If average Americans arent making a survivable living, they will stop spending money on non-necessities and they will stop paying their bills. When they do, homes will go into forclosure, stores and businesses that make non- essential goods will close, banks will fail, the stock market will crash, and...Oh wait, all that just happened.
Either Jamesm lives in a vacuum, or is in self denial about how all this will eventually effect his livelyhood or he was born with one hell of a silver spoon in his mouth thus is immune to the trials and tribulations of working Americans.
In other words, he is a die-hard Republican.