Five percent of Americans hover just above poverty, By Carol Morello, May 1, 2014, Washington Post: “Almost 5 percent of Americans struggle living just one step above poverty, according to a new report by the Census Bureau. The ranks of the near-poor, as they are called, are more likely to be women than men, and lack even a high school degree, the report said. The highest rate, 6.3 percent, was among African Americans. The census report examining what has happened to the near-poor since the mid-1960s shone a spotlight on those whose incomes rise above poverty thresholds, but only by 25 percent or less. In 2012 dollars, a family of four would be considered near-poor if their income fell between $23,283 and $29,104…”
Day: May 2, 2014
Low-Wage Employment
- Recovery has created far more low-wage jobs than better-paid ones, By Annie Lowrey, April 27, 2014, New York Times: “The deep recession wiped out primarily high-wage and middle-wage jobs. Yet the strongest employment growth during the sluggish recovery has been in low-wage work, at places like strip malls and fast-food restaurants. In essence, the poor economy has replaced good jobs with bad ones. That is the conclusion of a new report from the National Employment Law Project, a research and advocacy group, analyzing employment trends four years into the recovery…”
- Low-wage jobs proliferate as middle class ones disappear: job growth patterns since the recession, By Olivera Perkins, April 30, 2014, Cleveland Plain Dealer: “Lower-wage jobs have continued to proliferate since the Great Recession, as the economy creates fewer of the mid-wage jobs that have for generations been the backbone of the middle class, according to a new report. The report released this week by the nonprofit National Employment Law Project, or NELP, said that lower-wage industries accounted for 22 percent of the jobs lost during the recession, but 44 percent of employment growth over the past four years. Median hourly pay in lower-wage industries ranged from $9.48 to $13.33, according to the report…”
State SNAP Enrollment
1 in 5 rely on food stamps here, By Jennifer Liberto, May 2, 2014, CNNMoney: “Nearly one in five people are on food stamps in five states, a stark reminder that the Great Recession continues to be a drag on the nation’s poorest. In Mississippi, Oregon, Tennessee, New Mexico and Louisiana, food stamp use ranges around 20% of the population or more, according to January government data recently analyzed by nonprofit Food Research and Action Center. Nationally, about 15% of Americans are on food stamps. And as the economy has improved, nationwide use of the safety-net program for the most vulnerable has edged down to 46.5 million in January, about 1.2 million fewer than a year earlier, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. However, food stamp use in the five hungriest states has barely budged since the height of the post-recession period in 2012, when food stamp use was between 20 and 23% of the population in those states…”