- Majority of new jobs pay low wages, study finds, By Catherine Rampell, August 30, 2012, New York Times: “While a majority of jobs lost during the downturn were in the middle range of wages, a majority of those added during the recovery have been low paying, according to a new report from the National Employment Law Project. The disappearance of midwage, midskill jobs is part of a longer-term trend that some refer to as a hollowing out of the work force, though it has probably been accelerated by government layoffs…”
- Majority of new jobs in recovery are low-paying, study finds, By Jim Puzzanghera, August 31, 2012, Los Angeles Times: “Although six in 10 jobs lost during the Great Recession paid mid-level wages, the majority of new jobs created in the recovery — positions such as store clerks, laborers and home healthcare aides — pay much less, according to a new study. The findings highlight concerns about a shrinking middle class and pose another obstacle to getting the economy back on track, said Annette Bernhardt, policy co-director at the National Employment Law Project, which conducted the study…”
Month: August 2012
Census Small Area Health Insurance Estimates
- Uninsured on rise in Nashville, By Anita Wadhwani, August 31, 2012, The Tennessean: “Nearly one in six Tennesseans under the age of 65 lacks health insurance, an increase of more than 14 percent since the start of the recession in 2008, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Every county in Tennessee saw larger numbers of people without insurance from 2008 to 2010. But in Davidson County, there was a significant jump, with 25,000 more people added to the rolls of the uninsured in two years. By 2010, one in five Nashvillians under 65 – or 106,800 people – was uninsured, compared with one in seven in 2008…”
- Harris County no longer has nation’s highest uninsured rate, By Todd Ackerman, August 29, 2012, Houston Chronicle: “Harris County’s percentage of people without health insurance improved slightly in new census data released Wednesday, a hopeful sign in the county’s quest to end its dubious distinction as the nation’s symbol of the crisis. An estimated 29.9 percent of Harris County residents lacked health insurance in 2010, according to the new U.S. Census Bureau data, a smaller share than Miami-Dade County’s 35.8 percent and Dallas County’s 31 percent. The rankings represent a reversal of those released two years ago, when Harris had the highest rate among the nation’s large counties, Dallas the second highest and Miami-Dade the third…”
Euro Zone Unemployment
Eurozone’s record unemployment of 11.3 percent in July shows tough task ahead for leaders, Associated Press, August 31, 2012, Washington Post: “The unemployment rate across the 17 countries that use the euro remained at a record high of 11.3 percent in July, official figures showed Friday, underscoring the huge task leaders face to restore confidence in the continent’s economy. The European Union’s statistical agency, Eurostat, said 88,000 more people were without a job in July – for a total of 18 million – as governments and companies continued to trim payrolls to deal with problems of high debt and weak consumer spending…”