Understanding Low-Wage Work in the United States

Heather Boushey, Shawn Fremstad, Rachel Gragg and Margy Waller

CEPR Reports and Issue Briefs from Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR)

Abstract: Over 40 million jobs in the United States - about 1 in 3 - pay low wages ($11.11 per hour or less) and often do not offer employment benefits like health insurance, retirement savings accounts, paid sick days or family leave. These low-wage jobs are replacing jobs that have historically supported a broad middle class. This report provides a clear and sobering picture of the low-wage labor market through analysis of labor market data, including: downward wage trends over time, poor work conditions, largest occupations, and declining mobility. The authors used a social inclusion definition of low-wage work that allows for comparison among jobs in the United States.

JEL-codes: I32 J38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:epo:papers:2007-09

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