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Meet The Low-Wage Workforce
Brookings:
11.07.2019 by Martha Ross and Nicole Bateman
Jobs
play a central role in the lives of most adults. As forces like globalization
and automation reshape the labor market, it is clear that some people and
places are positioned to do well while others risk becoming collateral damage.
The well-educated and technically savvy find ample employment opportunities,
while those with lower levels of education face a labor market that is
decidedly less welcoming, with lower wages and less potential for career
growth. Meanwhile, some regions dramatically outpace others in job growth,
incomes, and productivity, raising disquieting questions about how best to
promote broad-based economic growth.
Against
this backdrop, we provide in a new report extensive demographic and
occupational data on low-wage workers nationally and in more than 350
metropolitan areas. It is a large and diverse group of people, and they play a
major role in our economy.
Low-wage
workers comprise a substantial share of the workforce. More than 53 million
people, or 44% of all workers ages 18 to 64 in the United States, earn low
hourly wages. More than half (56%) are in their prime working years of 25-50,
and this age group is also the most likely to be raising children (43%). They
are concentrated in a relatively small number of occupations, and many face
economic hardship and difficult roads to higher-paying jobs. Slightly more than
half are the sole earners in their families or make major contributions to
family income. Nearly one-third live below 150% of the federal poverty line
(about $36,000 for a family of four), and almost half have a high school
diploma or less.
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The
largest cluster, accounting for 15 million people or 28% of low-wage workers,
consists of workers ages 25 to 50 with no more than a high school diploma. READ
MORE >>
Workplace
2019:
Global Skills Index, Coursera
2018: A
Stronger Nation: Learning beyond high school builds American talent, Lumina
2017: UpSkilling
Playbook for Employers, Aspen
Institute
2015:
Skills Gap Report, NAM-MI
2010:
Literacy & The Entry-Level Workforce - The Role of Literacy and Policy in
Labor Market Success,
2008:
Reach Higher America: Overcoming Crisis in the U.S. Workforce, NCAL
2007:
America’s Perfect Storm, ETS
2007:
Can California Import Enough College Grad's. Meet Workforce Needs?, PPIC
2007:
Mounting Pressures: Workforce . . . Adult Ed, NCAL
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