American Jobs Are Getting Worse, New Economic Index Shows

'American Jobs are Getting Worse, A New Index Shows,' CBS News, Nov. 26, 2019. Excerpts:

- "We discovered that 63% of all jobs that were created since 1990 were low-wage, low-hour jobs."

- "44% of all workers are low-wage workers. These workers make a median pay of just $18,000 a year."



Although the U.S. is on a record streak for job creation, many Americans still feel like they can't get ahead. It's not their imagination. The past three decades have seen the economy churn out more and more jobs that offer inadequate pay, a group of researchers found. "The history of private-sector employment in the U.S. over the past three decades is one of overall degradation in the ability of many American jobs to support households — even those with multiple jobholders," they wrote.'..

"In 1990, the jobs were pretty much evenly divided," said Daniel Alpert, a founder of Westwood Capital and one of the creators of the index. In the process of running the numbers, he said, "We discovered that 63% of all jobs that were created since 1990 were low-wage, low-hour jobs. That was a pretty stunning statistic."

To calculate the index's value, the researchers split up the jobs created every month into those that pay above average and those that pay below average, and then divide one figure into the other. An index value below 100 means there are more lower-paying jobs relative to higher-paying jobs; a value above 100 means the opposite. Other entities involved in the creation of the index are the Cornell University Law School, the University of Missouri at Kansas City, the Coalition for a Prosperous America and the Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity.

This month, the index is just over 80, meaning there are 80 high-paying jobs for every 100 low-paying jobs. That's a stark drop from 1990, when there were 94 high-paying jobs for every 100 low-paying jobs. "There aren't enough 'good jobs' to go around," the Brookings Institution proclaimed earlier this month, when it released a report that found 44% of all workers are low-wage workers. These workers make a median pay of just $18,000 a year.

Looking at the job landscape this way shows an aspect that isn't demonstrated by the headline numbers often touted by the press and the White House — such as the unemployment rate, which is near a 50-year low, or the number of job openings, which has been higher than the number of unemployed people for a year and a half...
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/american-jobs-are-getting-worse-a-new-index-shows/ar-BBXpfR1?ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

- Job Quality Index, JQI
https://www.jobqualityindex.com/?ftag=MSFd61514f
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*'53 Million Americans Likely To Stay In Low Wage Jobs,' Brookings Inst. Report, Bloomberg News, Nov.7, 2019
https://finance-commerce.com/2019/11/53-million-americans-likely-to-stay-in-low-wage-jobs/

- "44% of Americans age 18 to 64 are low-wage workers, according to a Brookings Institution report."

Unemployment is hovering near a five-decade low, workforce participation is at the highest level in six years and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell recently called the labor market “strong.” Yet, 44% of Americans age 18 to 64 are low-wage workers, according to a Brookings Institution report.

An estimated 53 million Americans are earning low wages, according to the study. Their median wage is $10.22 an hour and their annual pay is $17,950. While many are benefiting from high demand for labor, the data indicated that not all new jobs are good, high-paying positions. The definition of “low-wage” differs from place to place...

The millions of Americans in low-wage jobs are likely to stay there. Workers who make $10 to $15 an hour have a 52% chance of remaining in that wage bracket when they switch jobs. For middle-wage workers, or those earning $19 to $24 an hour, there’s a 46% chance that a job transition would result in lower pay. That’s bad news for the nearly 3.5 million workers who quit their jobs in September alone.

>The demographics of low-wage workers span race, gender and geography, but women and minority groups are more likely to earn low wages. Black workers are 32% more likely to earn low wages than whites, and Latinos are 41% more likely. Nearly half of low-wage workers are concentrated in just 10 occupations, like cooks, cleaners, construction and retail sales, according to the report.

As for the future, while some jobs will be replaced by automation and robots, the main concern is displacement, Escobari said. “Both the industries that are growing and the industries that are shrinking are low wage,” and available work “is going to be more low-wage work,” she said...
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'The 8 Lowest-Paying Jobs In America,' NBC News, ` THE DOWN-WAGING OF AMERICAN JOBS

"Many of the lowest-paying jobs were once seen as the domain of younger workers who were first starting out in the work world, but increasingly these positions are survival jobs for midcareer folks who have been downsized, said Randall Hansen, a workplace expert with Quintessential Careers."

1. Food preparers & serving workers including fast food

2. Dishwashers

3. Cashiers

4. Host & hostesses

5. Amusement Park attendants

6. Movie theater ushers, ticket office

7. Farm Workers

8. Personal & Home Health Care Aides

More, http://www.nbcnews.com/id/38168029/ns/business-careers/t/lowest-paying-jobs-america/#.XeBEu681vIU