Low-wage Workers Are Older and Better Educated than Ever

[xchrom]

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/low-wage-workers-are-older-and-better-educated-than-ever

April 2012, John Schmitt and Janelle Jones

Relative to any of the most common benchmarks – the cost of living, the wages of the average worker, or average productivity levels – the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is well below its historical value. These usual reference points, however, understate the true erosion in the minimum wage in recent decades because the average low-wage worker today is both older and much better educated than the average low-wage worker was in the past.




*** more charts at link

[CottonBear]

1. I lost my 40K career job (25 years in the profession) & now work for $7.50 /hr PT

after being unemployed since April 2009. I'm LUCKY to have a 20 hr per week part time, no benefits job. I'm still in deep financial trouble. If I were to work 100 hours per month, I could not even come close to paying all of my bills.

I've worked since I was 14 years old. I went to private prep school, an excellent university and got a professional degree and license in my profession. I'm middle-aged, I have a small child, no health insurance and a mortgage.

This economy sucks.

I am so very grateful to the small, local business that employs me. I'd rather be working in my field, but the recession wiped out work in my profession.

Edit: I live in a university town populated by college students and highly educated adults AND a huge population of very low income people, many without even HS educations. My town is in the top ten metro areas in the US for income disparity between the top earners and the lower classes.

[peacefreak]

3. Move over, CottonBear.

We're in the same boat. I finally got full time hours, but still not enough to make rent & groceries & gas. Which should I choose this week?

[CottonBear]

4. I feel your financial pain.

If I do manage to find work full-time (@ $7.50/hr), then my partner & I will need to pay for daycare which will wipe out 75% of my earnings.

I hope that your situation improves. I never imagined that I would be in this sort of economic bind. I am grateful for my SNAP benefits which allow us to eat, but when I make more, I'll lose most (or all) of those AND I still will not be able to afford childcare.

WTF?

[MarianJack]

5. I'm almost 57, have a Masters Degree & nearly 20 years experience in my chosen field.

I've been out of work for 10 months and am desperate to get a minimum wage job. We are on the verge of losing everything if I don't get something yesterday!

PEACE!

[CottonBear]

8. Hang in there! I ran out of unemployment and it took another year to find work.

This economy sucks. If it were not for my friends and family, I would have lost my home. I'm still barely scraping by help from friends and family.

[Schulz]

2. right

right

[Fumesucker]

6. I've spent a year and a half working my ass off for no pay at all..

In order to start my own business since I am extremely skeptical I'll ever work for anyone else again at any rate of pay.

I'm right on the edge of making this work for me and I'm wondering just what else is going to screw up now.

Trying to start a business with basically no money is remarkably difficult, I can think of several times I've done a sixty or seventy hour week on a work-around to avoid a one hundred dollar purchase.

[CottonBear]

7. Oh gosh. I hope your business succeeds.

Last edited Fri Apr 6, 2012, 10:45 AM - Edit history (1)

I have a few consulting clients, but there's not enough work to support me and my family.

edit: sp. (I just noticed that we have spell check once again!)

[Fumesucker]

9. Thanks..

May you also have fair winds and following seas..