South Carolina: Gobs of jobs, but not enough offer living wage

As the Democratic presidential candidates take to the stage for Tuesday night's debate in South Carolina, they'll be speaking in a state with the nation's lowest unemployment rate — 2.3%, tied with Utah and Vermont.

But that rosy number obscures a harsher reality for many South Carolina workers: While they are employed, their low wages make it hard to pay for housing and other basics. Indeed, the state's median household income — about $52,300 last year — ranks only 42nd among all U.S. states, according to the latest Census data.

The pressures on working families in South Carolina comes as President Donald Trump touts the nation's 50-year low in unemployment and robust hiring. Yet many low- and middle-wage families around the country continue to struggle with economic insecurity. Income for middle-class Americans is projected to grow at less than half the rate as for the richest 1%, a recent Congressional Budget Office found.

Indeed, South Carolina is typical for states across the U.S., where job growth looks strong on the surface but much of that work offers meager wages and few benefits like health insurance and retirement savings. It's an issue facing growing numbers of Americans, with about 55% of the 225,000 private-sector jobs U.S. employers added in January offering wages of $10 to $15 an hour, according to an index of job quality. That translates to about $400 to $600 in weekly wages — well below the $765 in average weekly earnings for most non-government workers.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/south-carolina-gobs-of-jobs-but-not-enough-offer-living-wage/ar-BB10nX5L?li=BBnbfcN