Another bad sign for America's middle class

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ByBruce Kennedy

April 28, 2014, 1:52 PM

Another bad sign for America's middle class

You don't have to be an economic victim of the Great Recession to know that America's middle class is being squeezed in an unprecedented manner. Not only is the U.S. middle class no longer the world's richest, according to recent research, but millions of families who were once financially secure are now living hand-to-mouth.
What's going on? A new report from the National Employment Law Project finds that, nearly five years after the recession officially ended, most of the jobs that have been created during the recovery offer lower wages. Such positions made up 22 percent of jobs lost in the recession, but have accounted for 44 percent of employment growth.

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Where is the middle class heading?

The labor research and advocacy group also found that, from the outset of the recession in late 2007 to its low point in February of 2010, "employment losses occurred throughout the economy, but were concentrated in mid-wage and higher-wage industries."
By contrast, mid-wage positions, which composed 37 percent of the jobs cut in the recession, have made up only 26 percent of those recovered. High-wage industries, which made up 41 percent of recession jobs lost, reportedly had a 30 percent recovery growth.
"Today, there are nearly 2 million fewer jobs in mid- and higher-wage industries than there were before the recession took hold, while there are 1.85 million more jobs in lower-wage industries," NELP said in a statement,

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The low wage jobs explosion

By Tami Luhby  @Luhby April 28, 2014: 4:57 PM ET

Low wage jobs are on the rise.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Looking for a job? The ones you'll find will likely be low wage.

The labor market has been recovering since the Great Recession ended, but many of the jobs created have been in low-wage industries, according to a new report by the National Employment Law Project, a left-leaning group.

Among the fastest-growing jobs: Food services, home health care and retail -- all of which pay relatively little.
Better paying blue-collar industries, such as construction and manufacturing, have not recovered to their employment levels before the recession.
Lower wage industries accounted for 44% of employment growth since employment hit bottom in February 2010, the group found.
Going back to the start of the recession six years ago, the nation has added 1.85 million jobs in low-wage industries, but mid-wage and higher-wage industries have shed nearly 1 million positions each.

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